Yurnero - All Pick
by sasyst
Summary: Yurnero has to fight in a town war with the Lord of Avernus as his support. It doesn't work and Yurnero hates how the Lord never talks, never looks at him and then even lets him die. But then something shifts and suddenly the fighting works just fine and Yurnero enjoys having the Lord of Avernus around. Slowly, very slowly, they become friends.
1. Prolog

Dota

Yurnero

All Pick

by Aditu

The town had two circles. An inner one, which was the safe zone, and an outer one. Both were surrounded by walls. In the outer circle was the heart of the town that held the town with all its buildings alive. It was guarded with two towers. Around the heart were several houses and barracks, all on higher ground than the area outside the town. The inner circle was only used by merchants and as regeneration point for the top soldiers, the heroes. The merchants sold mostly weapons and armour suited for everyone, who would fight in this town war.

The town was in an eternal war with its neighbour town and had to defend itself endlessly. So everyone was trained to fight and then sent into battle as soldiers. It was the only thing they could do. If the heart was destroyed, all buildings of the town would fall apart. Both towns got assistance in the war from heroes, who came from the real world and did the fighting in the town wars as sport or entertainment. Or why ever.

The main goal was to keep the heart of their town safe. And the second one was to attack the enemy, maybe even to destroy the heart of their adversary's town. But it was not easy. They had skilled fighters, soldiers as well as heroes, too, and it was an endless struggle, who would become victor of this war. Nobody could tell, who would win, because the two towns with their soldiers and heroes were equally strong. The balance of power always shifted a little. Depending on which hero was on the field and what items the heroes had been able to buy, the balance could shift with every fight. Both towns were able to hire five heroes, whom they paid and who were resurrected inside of the safe zone with a delay, if they died in one of the fights.

At the present, the war was just about to start and both towns had still all their towers, in and around the high ground of the heart.

There were three ways between the two towns and on each way were two towers of each fraction. One more at the three entrances to the towns. If you wanted to destroy the heart you had to get the three towers on one way down and then the two in front of the heart. Five towers minimum. That was not easy to do, because they had a self-defence system, which would start firing, as soon as an enemy got into range. Those shots hurt and could easily kill someone, if they weren't strong enough.

Most times, two or three heroes would try to destroy a tower with some soldiers together, to divide the fire power between them all. That way everybody would get injured, but nobody would die. The problem here was, the enemy had soldiers as well, and heroes equally as strong. They had to be killed first, preferably not under the tower, but outside of its shooting range. Then they could destroy the building.

Well, it was not as easy as it sounded, of course.


	2. Chapter 1

Yurnero the Juggernaut wasn't sure what would await him in this town war. Yes, he had fought together with Alleria before, and even with the fucking Dragon Knight. They worked well together and he liked participating in one of the town wars with them. What was new was the third partner in Alleria's and the Knight's relationship, the Bounty Hunter. And of course their fifth ally, whom Yurnero barely knew. He had heard of him, but not much. It was the Lord of Avernus and he really wasn't sure what to make of him.

He had stared at the male on the horse for a long time when the Dragon Knight had invited him to fight in a town war with them all. But he hadn't been able to get anything from the Lord. He had stayed close to his mount all the time and he never lowered the hood from his cloak. His face was in the shadows but it seemed to be also hidden by some strange mist that coiled around the body of the male. Yurnero didn't know what species the male was from, not that it made any difference. The Lord of Avernus didn't talk much and didn't move much. When he did, it was all very deliberate and controlled. No harsh or loud words, no sudden or fast movements. But somehow he nonetheless didn't appear predictable, it was more that the male didn't do anything rashly or unthoughtfully.

The Juggernaut didn't like how the male hid one bit. He hated when he couldn't look into the faces of those around him, hated when he couldn't assess them because they used a disguise of some kind. More often than not there was a reason why the ones hiding did it and those reasons were never good ones.

Since the Dragon Knight had assured them that the Lord of Avernus would be a good ally, he was now stuck with him. They would go onto a road together, since Alleria would fight alone and the Bounty Hunter would accompany the Knight. He hoped the Lord knew what his job would be on the road together with him as the carry. Yurnero needed as many killing blows to enemy soldiers as he could possibly deal, because that way he'd get money to buy weapons and armour that would make him really strong. The Lord would have to help him to achieve that, which meant he'd have to attack the enemy heroes and never the enemy soldiers. He'd have to let Yurnero deal all the killing blows while keeping the enemy heroes far enough away so they couldn't attack the Juggernaut.

And he would have to stay alive through it. He'd have to help Yurnero should the enemy heroes decide to try to kill him and he'd have to be ready whenever Yurnero decided to try and kill one of them. Damn, he really hoped the Lord of Avernus was good enough to support him properly.

With a last glance at the male sitting on his mount, the Juggernaut headed out onto the road.

"Hey, Yurnero!" At the shout from Alleria he turned back at the entrance of the safe zone. "Good luck!" He simply nodded and left. The Lord of Avernus would follow him but he wanted to have a few moments alone. He wanted to swing his blade, get used to the slightly different feeling of fighting in a town war opposed to in the real world. The abilities of every hero were changed in a town war so they all had the same powers on the average. That way it could be that one hero was less powerful here than in the real world but it could be the opposite, too. For the Juggernaut it was about the same, it just felt different to fight here.

Since they didn't suffer from any kind of fatigue in the world of the town wars, the sword in his hands wasn't as heavy and he could do the same move all day long without getting tired. It was way worse when he got back into the real world because all the lightness he felt while fighting here was gone then. He was strong enough not to have a problem with it, but he did feel it.

Standing under first tower of the road, he swung his weapon and made some movements, right, left, turn, hit. As the Lord of Avernus neared, he sensed it more than he heard it. Although he was riding on a horse (or horse- _like_ creature), he and his mount made almost no sound. A little like they were gliding instead of walking, though they made steps.

He stared at the male, trying to penetrate the darkness and the mist underneath his hood, but could see nothing except his eyes. They glowed dimly in the shadows but there was nothing else to detect of his face.

With an inaudible snarl he turned away, facing in the direction the enemy soldiers would soon appear. The Lord of Avernus stopped next to him, completely motionless as he waited, too.

Their own soldiers passed them, and the horse whinnied softly. The Lord of Avernus patted it on the neck before he and the beast moved forward. He didn't look at the Juggernaut, just followed the road. Not that Yurnero liked it when his allies talked all the time, but he would have liked something from the strange male, a nod as greeting or whatever. This complete and utter silence and ignorance towards him made him frown in annoyance. Well, he didn't have to like his allies to fight with them and to win a town war.

The enemy soldiers appeared and the Juggernaut dove into the fight without hesitation. This was something he was good at and especially at the beginning of a town war there wasn't much thinking required. It was just killing the enemy soldiers and trying not to get hit too often by the enemy heroes. Easy enough.

Concentrating completely on the soldiers and his blade, Yurnero didn't watch what the Lord of Avernus did. He had to do something, because the enemy heroes weren't that focused on him and he was able to get lots of last hits, dealing the killing blows to almost all soldiers. When he was suddenly encased by some kind of translucent shield in a ball around his body, he faltered for a second. It had to be some ability from the Lord of Avernus, but as Yurnero looked at him from the corner of his eves, the male showed with nothing that he had cast the shield. He guided his horse back and forth, hitting the enemy heroes when he was near enough and keeping them at bay. He was injured by now but it didn't seem to slow him down any.

All in all he seemed to be doing well, so Yurnero concentrated fully on the soldiers in front of him again. The shield was great because it blocked some of the incoming damage. It got thinner and thinner with every hit it took until it burst apart.

Everything went smooth until the enemy heroes ganged together for the first time and came to the road as four. The Lord of Avernus sensed it a second before they were all around them because he turned his horse and for the first time in this war looked at the Juggernaut. But it was already too late. Not even his shield could save one, least of all both of them. And four against two was too unequal for the Juggernaut to win against, at least that early in the war. It was close, though, and he would've almost been able to get away. But a close death was a death nonetheless.

Since it was the first time he had died in this war, the Juggernaut was relatively relaxed as he went back to the road. It could happen and it wasn't that bad. It shouldn't happen a second time, though.

So he was more alert now, kept an eye on the forest on his side while he killed the soldiers. The Lord of Avernus arrived shortly after him and, without a word, continued as he had done before.

Yurnero had to say, he was a little disturbed by his unwavering silence. Maybe the creature on the horse wasn't able to speak? It was possible, but a little acknowledgement of his presence would have been nice no matter what. But just as before did the Lord ignore Yurnero. He cast his shield on him one more time but even then he didn't even glance in his direction.

The Juggernaut knew it, because he kept watching everyone and everything around him. It was difficult and he didn't get all the killing blows on the enemy soldiers anymore. But if it would save his life the next time the enemy went for an offensive, it would be worth it.

It only almost did. He saw the enemy in the woods way earlier than last time, but it still wasn't early enough. The Lord of Avernus was a little in front of him, already retreating and Yurnero used one of his abilities as he followed. He started to spin his body, his blade a silver blur as he turned around himself. He moved forward like that, or rather back towards third tower. He was immune to magic when he spun like that but not to physical attacks.

He could see the tower but he could also feel hit after hit from the enemy. They had outnumbered him again and together they dealt massive damage. The Lord of Avernus had already reached the tower, was relatively safe there. He turned his horse and watched Yurnero. And did _nothing_.

Blood was flowing from several wounds as Yurnero stopped spinning. It wasn't much further to the tower now and he thought he could make it, when he was hit by a stun. A magical ability of one of the enemy heroes that made it impossible for the Juggernaut to move. He was neither able to run nor to fight. And still the Lord of Avernus did nothing. He sat there, underneath the tower, tall on his mount, and just looked at him as the Juggernaut was killed. No help, no reaction at all.

This time, when he was resurrected in the safe zone, Yurnero wasn't the least bit relaxed anymore. He teleported back to third tower on his road. The Lord of Avernus was close to the building, probably to be safe from the enemy heroes while he was alone.

"Hey!" Yurnero stepped in front of him to get his full attention. He had to look up at the Lord and he hated it. He was tall but the male was sitting on a horse. "Maybe you could do your job next time and help me? Instead of standing around and doing nothing? Letting me die while watching may be fun for you but it isn't for me!" He leaned a little closer, aware that his head only reached up to the Lord's stomach and that his anger was probably not as impressive from this point of view as it was to someone who was smaller than the Juggernaut. Nonetheless, he growled. And had the pleasure of at least the horse shuffling to the side a little and the Lord of Avernus having to grab the reigns tighter. "If you do that again, I'll make sure to let you die when I could help you. A death for a death."

He stared up into the softly glowing eyes underneath the hood. And got absolutely no reaction. He couldn't see any change in those eyes, nothing that hinted at the creature having any feelings. Nothing that said he had understood the Juggernaut. With another growl, born out of frustration at having someone like that as a support, he turned away. There was nothing more he could do. Except care for himself. Don't trust the Lord of Avernus to have his back, don't trust him to help or anything.

That was fine for Yurnero. He was used to fighting alone, though he preferred to have someone by his side whom he could rely on. But he could fight alone and he'd do so. And later he'd give Alleria hell for pairing him with the fucker. Whatever had she been thinking?

The answer of the Lord of Avernus made him stop mid step. So he _was_ able to speak. "I couldn't have saved you. They were too many." His deep voice sent a shiver down Yurnero's back. It resonated strangely through is body, which made him only angrier. As did the words. The Juggernaut gritted his teeth and stood completely still for a moment. He would've liked nothing more than to turn around and get into the Lord's face. To insult him and maybe hit him a little. _I couldn't have saved you. They were too many. My ass._ He could at least have _tried_ to do something instead of standing around and watching. And he had the ability to shield his allies. He could've done that!

But Yurnero knew that insulting ones allies in a town war was counterproductive and he, mostly, refrained from doing it. Sometimes it was hard and he wanted nothing more at the moment than to string one insult after the other and direct them at the Lord of Avernus. Instead he took a few deep breaths and then he started forward again, ignoring the creature at his back. He was more careful now, staying back a bit more instead of charging forward all the time. It cost him, since he didn't get as much experience and gold as he would've liked. But this time, when the enemy tried to kill him, he was underneath the tower fast enough and only got a few scratches.

Again the Lord of Avernus hadn't put his shield around Yurnero but he swallowed his anger down since it didn't matter. He had survived anyway.

"Juggernaut." Another shiver down his spine. And Yurnero swore he had never heard such a deep voice on any creature. It held some kind of echo or something that gave the impression of vibrations. Maybe that was why it sent shivers through his body. The Juggernaut turned his head to look at the Lord. He didn't look back, just stared at the road in front of them, where four enemy heroes were running around, enemy and allied soldiers, too. "As long as you are spinning, I can't use any of my abilities on you. I can't shield you, can't heal you."

Yurnero had been prepared to get angry again, but this surprised him. He blinked and was glad that he had a mask over his face. He probably looked extremely stupid right now. Surprised and mute staring at someone tended to.

He thought about it. Had he been spinning right now, to escape the enemy? Yes, of course he had. It was almost instinct to do it, since he couldn't be stunned then, or hit by any kind of magic. The spinning made him immune to magic and it was only logical that it made him immune to allied magic, too. Which was disadvantageous at best. Disastrous at worst. Because he had been spinning the last time, too, when the enemy had killed him. No wonder the Lord of Avernus hadn't been able to help. Maybe he still could've done so after the Juggernaut had had stopped spinning. But this information, it made him less angry. Much less angry at the Lord of Avernus. And he had to take this into account now, every time he used his ability to spin, he had to think about the fact that his support couldn't help him, then.

With a nod, to indicate that he had understood, he looked at the road again. Two of the enemy heroes had fallen back, maybe to hide and wait, maybe to get back to another road again.

Still not trusting the Lord of Avernus to have his back, though he was less irritated by him now, he continued to be careful. Maybe they should just switch to another road and go with their allies, as the enemy had done. They had ganked as four on this road, it could be safer and more successful for Yurnero to do the same. Especially since the enemy seemed to focus on him and come together to kill him. If they didn't have the disadvantage of numbers against them, the enemy wouldn't have a chance to kill him.


	3. Chapter 2

As soon as the allied soldiers were too far away from third tower for the Juggernaut to feel safe, he decided to go to the middle road, check on Alleria. "You want to stay or come with me?"

The Lord of Avernus, what a surprise, didn't answer but simply turned his horse and followed Yurnero. He snarled silently as he ran underneath the trees. Since he knew that the Lord was able to speak, his not doing so, not even to answer an actual question, aggravated the Juggernaut to no end. So much so, that he almost oversaw an enemy, who was standing hidden in the shadows of a cliff. The creature was obviously waiting for a chance to surprise Alleria on the middle road and kill her.

Before the enemy could properly realize that he had been detected and that he was the one who had been surprised, the Juggernaut attacked, using every ability he had. The enemy tried to run away but it was no use. One against one, the Juggernaut was more than strong enough and as the body of the enemy lay on the ground by his feet, he took a relieved breath. Since he had died for the first time in this war, he hadn't been sure if they could make it. Especially with the Lord of Avernus being by his side. But now, with his first real kill and with him knowing the boundaries of the Lord's abilities, he felt marginally better. Smiling faintly underneath his mask, he continued to the middle road, which was just in front of them, down a hill.

Behind him, the Lord of Avernus followed. He had stayed back when it had been clear that the Juggernaut didn't need his help to kill the enemy (at least he knew what a support was supposed to do) but had stayed close enough to help, should it be necessary. The hooves of his mount made no sound on the ground, the movements of horse and rider eerily silent as they trotted down the hill.

Yurnero wondered suddenly what kind of creature the Lord of Avernus was. He kept his face well-hidden underneath a hood and everything else of his body was covered by clothes and armour. Gloves. Boots. Even a cape. He was relatively tall but many creatures were tall. The way his eyes glowed… Maybe an elf? But his mount, it was no normal horse. And elves didn't ride horses anyway. Neither normal ones, nor abnormal ones. Maybe a worg? Would make sense that he hid his face all the time, then. But did their eyes glow like that?

"Hey Yurnero!" Alleria's call snapped him out of his thoughts. He frowned in annoyance, not at her but at the way his thoughts had drifted. There wasn't much that was more unimportant while being in a town war than the race of his allies. Even if someone was from a race he, the Juggernaut, would normally hate with all his being, he'd still be allied with them. And they'd still have to fight side by side. So there was simply no point in dwelling on stuff like that.

Yet he had been so occupied with the question that he had been uncommonly absent-minded.

The woman ran to his side. "Everything okay?"

"I found one up the hill." Yurnero nodded in the direction where he had just killed the waiting enemy. "And they were at my road three times now to gank me. Thought I should make it a bit harder for them. How's it here?"

"Everything's fine. Hallo Lord of Avernus!" She greeted the male with a smile. "I'm currently alone, so I suppose they tried to gank you again. If they are doing it all the time, we should get together, too. Gondar was here a few times. Didn't he show up at your road?"

"He didn't." Which didn't surprise Yurnero at all. He had insulted the Bounty Hunter when they had first met so it was no wonder he wasn't so fond of him. He hadn't really meant what he had said, then, had meant it as a joke, but an insult was an insult. And even the Juggernaut knew that it didn't matter what someone said but what their opponent understood.

"Okay. Well, how about we go to Davion and Gondar? See what we can do there?"

And so they ran through the forest together. Alleria talked about this and that and Yurnero relaxed. He loved to have her by his side. She was his best friend and he had missed her the last weeks. She had wanted to spend some time with Davion alone and of course it was okay. But he only had her, now that Rylai was living with her girlfriend. Or better the girlfriend with her. And sometimes he was lonely. He didn't trust easily and so it was hard for him to find a friend. Let alone have a relationship.

As soon as the road came into view, they slowed their steps. They watched while still standing in the shadows and saw two enemies while Davion, the Dragon Knight, stood near the tower. He was injured but not too badly.

Alleria walked underneath the trees parallel to the road, farther away from the tower. She'd go in from behind while the lord of Avernus and the Juggernaut would come from the side. With a nod she indicated that she was ready and they charged in, no further coordination needed. As soon as Davion saw them, he attacked, too.

It was almost too easy. Alleria was the best archer Yurnero had ever seen, her shots so precise that even he didn't think he'd have a chance against her one on one.

With them being four against two, it was a matter of seconds before the enemies were dead.

"Where's Gondar?" Alleria looked at Davion, taking in his wounds, probably estimating if he should get back into town to regenerate. But the Knight was unfazed and since the woman didn't comment on his injuries they probably weren't that bad.

"He wanted to check on you. Then go to the Juggernaut, then come back. He…" Whatever he had wanted to say, he was interrupted by the Bounty Hunter.

"The other three are on their way. Only moments behind me." Without waiting for a response, the small hunter vanished, going invisible and circling into the woods he had just emerged from. The others reacted instantly.

The Dragon Knight turned into his dragon form and flew in the direction Gondar had come from without hesitation. Alleria ran after Gondar into the forest and the Lord of Avernus followed the Knight. It seemed they wouldn't wait for the enemy to come to them, but charge them instead.

Yurnero sighed. He hated this back and forth. He liked to stay on one road. Maybe go into the forest and kill all the beasts that lived there. Switching roads all the time made him crazy. But he wouldn't leave his allies alone.

Which wouldn't have been a problem, at least this time. They had killed one more enemy and the other two had escaped. He could as well have stayed on the road. Since he didn't want to run all the way up to his road again, Yurnero just stayed in the forest. And killed the creature there. He got money by killing them, too, as he did by killing enemy soldiers. So it was as good to go through here. He would move in the direction of his road but on the way he could as well do something useful.

Alleria, the Dragon Knight and the Bounty Hunter left. The Lord of Avernus hesitated. At least Yurnero thought it was hesitation but when he looked up to the creature, he couldn't see anything in his eyes. They were always the same and they didn't change one bit. They didn't give away any feelings the Lord of Avernus might have. But he hadn't moved away as the others had.

He didn't look at the Juggernaut, though, so he ignored his presence and continued to kill the beasts in front of him. If the Lord wanted something, he'd say so. If not, he'd go away sooner or later.

When he finally spoke, it startled Yurnero. And he missed a hit. Which ended in the golem in front of him hitting him square in the face. The Juggernaut stumbled backwards, needing a moment to regain his balance before he was able to kill the thing. He shook his head and turned to the Lord of Avernus. After the hit from the golem he hadn't listened anymore. "What did you say?"

For a second Yurnero thought he heard a deep laugh but then the horse snorted loudly and he wasn't sure anymore. Had the Lord of Avernus just laughed about him? He looked as always, nothing about him had changed, not his posture, not his eyes. Unlikely. He probably didn't know how to laugh. The snort from the mount must've made him think the Lord had made a sound.

"I asked if you want me to stay near you, to support you in case the enemy comes looking for you here, or if you want me to leave." His voice, did it hold a hint of amusement?

The Juggernaut shook his head. Both to chase this stupid thought away (the Lord of Avernus didn't look as if he was capable of laughing about anything) and to answer the question. He didn't need a babysitter while he was in the woods. Especially since he didn't intend to stay here but go back to his road and just kill the beasts here on his way there.

Without another word, or glance or anything at all, the Lord left. For a moment, Yurnero stared after him, so very unsure what to make of this strange creature. With a snarl, he turned away. He had met way stranger creatures in this town wars throughout his life and he didn't understand why the strangeness of the Lord of Avernus held his attention more than any other ever had. He was in his thoughts, though there should be nothing except the focus on the task at hand: winning the town war and everything that was connected to that goal.

Alleria waved at him as he crossed the road she was on. She was fine and so he continued on without lingering there. "Hey Jug, I'll come with you!"

Not bothering with waiting, since Alleria was way faster than him anyway, Yurnero continued. He smiled underneath his mask, glad that he had some company. He ignored the sudden thought that the Lord of Avernus would've kept him company, too. It wouldn't have been the same anyway.

"How's it going? You seem tenser in this town war than usual. Is it okay with the Lord of Avernus? It was Davion's idea to take him with us, I never really had anything to do with him." The Windrunner always pestered him with questions, in and out of town wars. She had been like that from the beginning, when they had met for the first time. It hadn't mattered that he had been reserved. She had simply continued to talk to him. Until he had caved in, had called her his friend and had answered her questions. He hadn't really minded it all. He had liked her, had been nice to her even though they had been enemies in the town war they had met in.

It had been an unusual town war and Yurnero had been disturbed enough by all that had happened during it. And when it had been over, Alleria had smiled at him and had invited him for a drink. He supposed him taking the invitation had been the sign that he was willing to be her friend. It had taken some time for him to get used to having someone so close after he had been alone for such a long time but now he liked having her around.

They had fought side by side in countless town wars since then, almost inseparable. Until she had met the Dragon Knight. Yurnero hated him for taking his friend away, though he had to admit that she never left him for long. And their bond was still different than what she had with the Knight. Besides, he loved how jealous the stupid warrior was whenever Yurnero and Alleria spent time with each other. And it was better since he had met Rylai. The female had been even more cheerful and talkative than Alleria. Normally Yurnero wasn't twisted around one's little finger so easily but something about Rylai was different. Had made him feel protective of her.

It hadn't been the same as with Alleria, though. They were like equals walking side by side, while with Rylai it was more a case of caring for each other. It was nice, too, but different.

"Yurnero!" Alleria stretched the syllables, almost singing his name.

"Yeah, it's fine. Starting problems, I guess. And I already died twice, makes me feel like I'm lagging behind our enemies and that I might not be strong enough against them in the next fight." He was strong but with every time the enemy killed him, they got stronger while he stagnated. It always made him nervous. And tense.

"Don't worry. I'm strong enough to kill them all."

The Juggernaut rolled his eyes at her grin and her cockiness. The problem was: she was probably right.

They left the cover of the trees at third tower. The Lord of Avernus was there, slightly injured but mostly fine. He didn't acknowledge their arrival with a look or a word or anything but Yurnero thought he saw how his posture change, only the tiniest bit. A slight lessening of tautness around his shoulders and back. It was almost undetectable but it was the first time the Juggernaut saw anything at all. He would have a watchful eye on this sign, as small as it was, see if he would spot it again. Because maybe, just maybe, the Lord of Avernus reacted solely with tiny gestures and the Juggernaut had to learn to see them. If that was the case, then he'd learn. It was important for him that he could read his allies and especially his support, at least a little, to be able to predict their actions. That was the only reason, and definitely not that he was curious about the hooded male.

"Heyo, we come to help up here." There was no reaction from the Lord of Avernus to Alleria's words and she huffed in obvious irritation. Muttering something not very nice under her breath, she stalked past him. Yurnero followed with a smile, glad that his face was hidden by the mask.

The horse snorted, the only sound the Lord of Avernus and his mount made as they moved forward.

Alleria used the trees on their right as cover. Being extremely watchful, the Juggernaut started to kill the enemy soldiers that were fighting about halfway between their and the enemy tower. He couldn't see Alleria anymore and was wondering where the enemy was. He hoped she'd call if she was in trouble. The Lord of Avernus was on his right side, too, moving underneath the trees but not as far away as the Windrunner.

The enemy appeared from the other side. There were three of them and they concentrated all their attacks on Yurnero. Lucky for him, he was hit by a stun first (and when had he _ever_ called it luck to be stunned). Since he was immobilized, he couldn't use his ability to spin because he would've done so intuitively without thinking. Now the Lord of Avernus could use his abilities to shield him, to heal him. And as he entered the fray, without a shield for himself, the Juggernaut was injured but up to the fight the enemy had initiated.

As soon as he was able to move again, he took a deep breath and a split second to focus. It was more than enough. He raised his weapons and in a fury of blades he jumped, cutting through the enemies with precision and power in every hit. It was like, a special attack he had learned. Once, a long time ago. The enemy couldn't see him, couldn't hit him, couldn't do anything while he attacked in this way. Sadly he couldn't do it for long because it was rather straining. Even in a town war.

And when he stepped out of the fury of blades Alleria was there and she was glorious. Yurnero thought the Lord of Avernus was close to dying, wanted to yell at him to back away, to let _him_ take the hits while the male got back to safety, but then he saw what the Lord was capable of doing and it was amazing. A green glow formed around his body, like flames that didn't burn, and they healed him. For every hit the enemy landed on his body while the fire flared, his wounds healed a little. The fire reversed the taken damage into healing power. For a moment, Yurnero stared at the hooded creature engulfed by green flames.

The flames stopped abruptly, leaving the Lord of Avernus still slightly injured but way better than before. And the Juggernaut realized he should, maybe, join the battle again. The outcome of the fight was two dead enemy heroes, while one got away. They refrained from chasing the one because the Lord of Avernus was rather drained, as was the Juggernaut and the enemy was probably faster anyway. Alleria laughed at them and headed back to her road. She was, by all means, fine.

Using the time the enemies needed to resurrect and get back onto the road, Yurnero killed the enemy soldiers as fast as he could. The Lord of Avernus moved a little into the forest, to scout probably. The Juggernaut felt much better with him by his side now than at the beginning of the town war. He had been a great help in this fight and had even sacrificed his own protection for the Juggernaut. Not that he had needed it that much, after how he could heal himself. But the hits hurt nonetheless, no matter if one could heal them.

Yurnero new that since he could summon a healing ward himself. It did heal him but it didn't erase the memory of the pain taking the wounds had evoked. The way of the Lord of Avernus could be even more painful since he turned the damage from the hits he took and morphed them into healing. Maybe those hits still hurt, maybe they hurt more, _Yurnero_ couldn't know that. And considering how much the Lord talked, he wasn't about to ask him.

It seemed since the Lord of Avernus had told him that the spinning prevented him from putting the shield around Yurnero's body, they interacted better with each other during the fights. Of course it wasn't always perfect but it was good enough to make the Juggernaut relax and trust in his support to support him. To help him and to have his back. It was a slow progress but from one fight to the other, his trust grew.

He liked that he didn't have to worry _about him_ like he had to do with other supports. They were often physically weak since they used mostly magic, relying on it so much that they didn't know how to fight without it. When an enemy was immune to magic or just strong enough to endure it, they were fucked.

The Juggernaut hated that. He didn't want to always have to look after his support, see if they were alright, see if they needed help. With the Lord of Avernus, he didn't have to. Even if the male used all his abilities on Yurnero, he was still fully capable to defend himself, even charged into the middle of the fights often enough.

No matter what happened, the male always stayed calm and focused. It was extremely fascinating. Nothing could get to him as he guided his mount through battle, his posture never changing, no matter how injured he was, no matter how many enemies surrounded him.

This calm, it probably was what made the Juggernaut trust him to have him fighting by his side. He had had so many allies who had been hectic or fluttering. Who had stopped thinking during big fights and who had thrown magic around them in panic. Of course such spells often missed or were useless in the end.

When the Lord of Avernus was in a fight, there was nothing hectic. Even his horse stayed always calm.

Their fights went well, the town war went well. They only ran around together as five now so the enemy couldn't eliminate them one after the other. The Bounty Hunter used his invisibility to scout. The Dragon Knight used his dragon form to be even stronger. Alleria shot her arrows so fast they almost built a continuous line in the air. And no matter what the enemy did, if they came from two sides, if they hid to launch a surprise attack, if they tried to trick them, to lay a trap, came from behind, took the Bounty Hunter out because they were able to make him visible and he was an easy target then, the Lord of Avernus was always there and he seemed to never be surprised. He countered every attack as a matter of course without faltering once.

To say the least, the Juggernaut was impressed. Especially since he had been reluctant to rely on him at the beginning of the war. He found he rather liked to have the Lord around. Yurnero felt better as long as the male was near and they didn't separate once during the remaining war. He thought, and it was a strange idea, that he might actually like the Lord of Avernus.

After another fight, where the Lord had taken most of the hits, had been the first one to engage the enemies, Yurnero stopped next to him. The Lord was still heavily injured, or maybe better: he was heavily injured _again_ , after he had been fully healed once during the fight. Since the Juggernaut could heal, too, he summoned his healing ward and stayed close to the male on his horse.

And there, just the tiniest bit, he could see how the Lord of Avernus got less tense with every healed injury. This time he was absolutely sure he was right. The rigidness of his shoulders got lesser and he thought he could hear a soft sigh. A snort from the horse overlaid it.

Yurnero didn't have to turn his head to look at the Lord of Avernus and his horse from the corner of his eyes. Had the horse snorted to hide reactions from his rider? What kind of mount did that? Had it done that before? Did it always do that? Had it just been a coincidence?

"This is almost too easy." Alleria grinned smugly at them all. Davion sauntered over and kissed her fully on the mouth. He said something, too low for Yurnero to understand the words from where he was standing. The woman laughed and leaned over to nip at the Knight's lip before she moved forward on the road.

"You coming?" Davion called back at the Juggernaut and the Lord of Avernus. The Bounty Hunter appeared by his side and the Knight smiled at him. They were so very different that it was almost unbelievable they were in a relationship.

But as the Knight lowered his head to kiss the Hunter on the temple, even Yurnero could see how much he cared for the smaller creature.

The Dragon Knight then followed the Windrunner while the Bounty Hunter stared after him for a moment. Maybe he was smiling but he had a half mask covering his mouth so Yurnero couldn't be sure. He went invisible and vanished into the forest to their right to scout. He'd go forward together with them, but parallel to the road.

The Juggernaut and the Lord of Avernus continued along with the others. The horse next to him snorted and Yurnero looked at the Lord without turning his head. With his mask, no one could ever tell where he was really looking. And he used it to his full advantage. The Lord appeared to be as always, nothing different about him. Why had the horse snorted? Had the Lord made a sound Yurnero hadn't heard? Did it cover something the male did, again?

It was extremely difficult to find a reaction from the Lord of Avernus to anything. But since the Juggernaut was almost sure he had heard the male laugh before, this one time in the woods, when the snort from the mount had covered the sound up, as well as his sigh earlier, when he had helped him heal, he'd find other things

And he was nothing if not determined. He'd totally use the fact that his mask covered his whole face and the Lord of Avernus couldn't see where he was looking. Whenever he could, he kept an eye on him.

During the battles, there was nothing to see. There was precision and focus in every move the Lord made but nothing else. And Yurnero didn't have that much time while fighting. He had to concentrate on what he was doing. It wasn't _that_ important to find out if the Lord of Avernus actually reacted to things, if he had feelings like other creatures had. Though it was strange that he cared about it at all.

It didn't take them much longer to end the town war. They destroyed the heart of the enemy town with ease. The Juggernaut stared at the crumpled remains, letting his blade droop. It had been way to short a war. He would've liked to spend more time with Alleria, especially since he hadn't seen her that much during it. And now he'd be alone again.

"Hey Jug!" The Windrunner slung one arm around his shoulders. "That was nice, wasn't it? Easy war. You were good."

Swallowing his sadness since there was no use in wallowing in it, especially not as long as Alleria was there, he smiled. Not that she could see it but he was sure she'd be able to hear it in his voice. "Of course I was good, I'm always good. But you, you were awesome."

She laughed and hugged him from the side. "Thanks!"

They returned to the platform from which they had started to the town war (they were teleported back to it). The platform was surrounded by a wide plane, the knee-high grass waving in the soft wind. Alleria, the Dragon Knight and the Bounty Hunter immediately started one way. Yurnero knew that a few houses with shops and an inn were in that direction. He supposed they'd stay there for at least the night. And eat a lot.

Time was strange when one was in a town war. And the body coped differently with this phenomenon. Some were extremely tired as soon as they were back, some were very hungry. Some weren't affected at all, as was the case with the Juggernaut. The only thing he had to struggle with when he was back was the way his blade felt in his hands, how he got tired when he had to fight long stretches of time and how his body felt exhaustion again. How his sword was _heavy_ here while it was almost weightless in the town wars. It always took him a few days to adjust to it, a few days of training to get his muscles used to everything again.

He was lucky, Alleria got her two boyfriends to stay in the inn with him for that time so she could train with him.

The Lord of Avernus stayed two days, too, but then he left. He didn't announce it any. One morning, they were all sitting at breakfast in the inn, the Lord came down from his room, a backpack over his shoulders. He held his hand out to the Dragon Knight first. He didn't say a word, in fact he hadn't spoken anything while they had been staying at the inn. He simply waited until the Knight shook his hand, then he held it out to one after the other. The Juggernaut was last and he thought the Lord lingered for a moment here, their hands clasped.

But then he turned around and left. Just like that he was gone.

It didn't matter, Yurnero thought. He hadn't talked with them anyway. While he and Alleria had practiced he had only stood there and watched. Or he had been in his room alone. Or riding around without any purpose (at least no visible purpose for the Juggernaut). He had bought stuff in the shops near the inn but had done so alone, too.

He was wrong, though. Somehow the Juggernaut had gotten used to the silent presence by his side. He had always known where the Lord of Avernus had been, if he was around or not. And he felt how he was gone now.

With a frown, he continued eating. Why should he care about some strange creature? A creature he barely knew, whom he had exchanged maybe ten words with the whole time they had been together. It made no sense.

And yet, he already felt lonely. Maybe it was simply because it reminded him of the fact that Alleria would be gone soon, too.

Yes, that had to be it.

"We'll leave tomorrow." Her announcement confirmed that train of thought. He only nodded. Because what was there to say?


	4. Chapter 3

The Juggernaut thought about going back home. But he had nothing to do there. He'd be all alone. He thought about visiting Rylai but didn't feel like being surrounded by yet another happy couple.

So he did what he usually did: he jumped from one town war to the other. Sometimes without even taking a break in-between. He met many creatures he knew, a few of them almost close enough to be called friends. He fought a while together with Medusa and Atropos but eventually they left.

Just when he had enough of all the senseless fighting and wanted to visit Rylai and her girlfriend, no matter how much he'd feel like the third wheel, the Lord of Avernus appeared. Yurnero was sitting in the same inn where they had parted. It was popular because of its closeness to one of the platforms, which were used as starting points for the town wars, and to on one of the biggest main roads through the world.

Anyway, he was just drinking a huge mug of water after a long day of training and getting used to being in the real world again and not in a town war anymore. He felt the presence of the Lord a moment before the deepest voice he had ever heard spoke to him. He didn't have to turn around, would recognize this voice _everywhere_ , though he had only heard it maybe three times. "Juggernaut."

"Lord of Avernus!" He tried not to jump up from his chair in joy but he was sure it was evident enough in his voice as he faced the Lord. Oh, and he was happy to see him. He even grinned, thankful that it was hidden behind his mask. "Nice to see you again. You here to fight in a town war?"

For a moment he thought the Lord of Avernus wouldn't answer, would remain silent as he had always been. Yurnero's grin transformed into a frown, his joy into irritation. Why was he glad to see the Lord of Avernus if the creature wouldn't even talk to him? Why had the male addressed him when he now didn't want to answer any questions? Before his irritation could form into anger, the Lord of Avernus answered.

"Yes." In an actual sentence. "I was just on my way to the platform." With a question of his own. "Would you like to join me?"

The Juggernaut laughed, only a little delighted that the Lord of Avernus would want to have him around. "Absolutely." Forgotten were his plans to visit Rylai, to take a break from fighting in town wars. He paid his drink and snatched his blade. "Ready. Let's go."

Outside the Lord of Avernus mounted his horse and they left for the platform.

Without thinking about it, Yurnero began to talk. When he had been alone for some time, he sometimes felt the need to do that. "How have you been doing the last weeks? Oh, wait, I don't even know how much time has passed since we last saw each other. I've been in one town war after the other. Could be years have gone by. Well, doesn't really matter, I suppose. Did you do any town wars lately? If not, there have been some changes in the landscape between the two towns. I really don't know how that works, why it sometimes changes like that, but it did. It confuses me every time it happens. There are many new paths now and some of the old ones vanished. At many points you can get way deeper into the woods than before, can hide there. The merchant changed his supplies a little as well. I don't think he changed anything about the stuff you'd normally get, but better you know it."

He was about to continue, when the horse snorted. A shiver ran down Yurnero's back as he heard the Lord of Avernus chuckling. Oh, his mount did a good job of covering it up but the Juggernaut was absolutely sure because he felt it more than he heard it, the deep tone of the sound making his body react. He stopped. "Did you just laugh about me?" Did the Lord of Avernus find him funny? Yurnero scowled as he stared at the Lord, who had stopped a few steps later. He hadn't turned around, though, was still looking forward.

The horse snorted again but he didn't get whatever the beast had covered this time. Maybe another laugh? "Hey, answer my question!" He wasn't yet sure if he wanted to get mad but he surely didn't like to be laughed about. Especially not by someone who never showed any emotions or reacted to anything else.

Another snort. "I don't laugh." Nothing else. The Lord of Avernus didn't turn or anything.

Did he really think the Juggernaut would buy that? That he didn't know what he had heard? Or that he hadn't realized by now that the damn horse snorted only when the Lord of Avernus reacted to something to make enough noise to drown the reaction out? He stared for long moments but since the Lord of Avernus didn't move and didn't say anything else, he had two options: leave or continue on. The Lord wouldn't say anything more, Yurnero was sure he wouldn't no matter how hard he'd push him.

He snarled, irritated at himself because he still wanted to go to the town war with the male. He had even gotten more curious about him. Why did he try so hard to hide everything about him? Was he afraid of something? How had he gotten his mount to snort like that whenever he made a sound? Why did he even lie to get others to believe he felt nothing, ever?

As they continued on their way to the platform, Yurnero didn't talk anymore. He was lost in thought, as he pondered why the Lord of Avernus hid himself, not only his body but his whole being, his personality, like that. The Juggernaut hid his body, or at least his face, too, but he didn't try to be someone else. Or tried to hide who he was. The Lord probably had good reasons to do so, but it was strange nonetheless.

The platform was empty. Sometimes someone was waiting, looking for company in a town war, but today no one was around. So they stepped onto it. And just before they vanished, the Lord of Avernus looked at Yurnero. His eyes glowed softly and the Juggernaut could swear he wanted to say something.

Then they appeared in the safe zone of one of the two towns of the town war. And the Lord of Avernus wasn't looking at him anymore. His horse snorted, again, but he just began to browse the wares of the merchant.

Yurnero was absolutely confused by the male. Yet he was still looking forward to fighting side by side with him in the upcoming battles.

Rightly so, because the fighting was perfect. They had gotten used to each other during the last town war so much so, that they were awesome together now. The Juggernaut was grinning more than once like a maniac underneath his mask during the war. Because it worked. Everything they did worked. The Lord of Avernus was always around, helping him, saving him and through it all, fighting with him together. Side by side. And he'd never had that with a support, ever.

"You are an amazing support." As he said these words to the Lord of Avernus, the male's head whipped around so fast, he swayed on his horse and the creature had to take a step to the side to balance itself. The Lord of Avernus stared at him and the Juggernaut laughed. For he had gotten the Lord to react, to react so strongly that no mount could ever cover it up.

It wasn't a laugh of glee, but of pure joy about seeing how the Lord of Avernus was just as normal as anyone. Joy about being the one who could make him react. His grin didn't go away throughout the whole war. Amazing, it was amazing.

And all the while Yurnero kept an eye on the Lord of Avernus. He tried to see more things that hinted at what he was feeling. They were so small and the horse was awfully good at snorting loud enough to drown out every sound its rider made. The Juggernaut even thought that the beast moved when the Lord did something unusual. It was completely trained to help the Lord of Avernus hide. And it was absolutely not easy to see through it all. To hear anything through the snorting or to see anything through the movements of the beast.

But eventually he did. And he found astonishing things out about the Lord. The most astonishing was probably his humour. He laughed about stuff the Juggernaut could only shake his head at. And sometimes he hummed under his breath, when he approved of something. It was a very deep sound and Yurnero felt it more than he heard it. It sent shivers down his back and it kind of made him want to get approval all the time.

They still didn't talk during the war at all. The Lord of Avernus was always silent and seldom acknowledged the presence of the Juggernaut. But even without looking he knew what to do and was at the right places all the time. It was fascinating. He had a good sense of his surroundings. Besides, he probably did it the same way the Juggernaut did: keep the head straight and only move the eyes. That way no one ever knew what they were really looking at. It was especially good with the enemy, they never saw an attack coming if they thought they hadn't been seen.

To have someone else do it to him was highly unnerving, though. No wonder Rylai always told him to cut it off. He wanted to tell the Lord of Avernus to cut it off, too. Couldn't the damn male look at him for once?

The Juggernaut was so lost in his thoughts about the Lord of Avernus, that he almost missed how they won the town war. One moment he was killing some enemy soldiers and the next the heart of the enemy town, not far away from him, crumbled down, making the earth shake with the force of it. Everyone stopped fighting to stare at the remains of the heart.

Yurnero, his blade still raised mid strike, blinked stupidly at the pile of stones. It was over? They had won? How could he have been so absentminded that he hadn't even realized that they were already attacking the heart of the town? He straightened and lowered his weapon. And immediately looked for the Lord of Avernus.

The male was nearby, he had, in fact, been hitting at the heart to help take it down.

Well, it didn't matter that much. They had won, it had been a great war and he and the Lord of Avernus had been awesome together.

"Want to do another one?" The Juggernaut strolled over to the Lord of Avernus, who then actually looked at him.

"Yes." Nothing else this time.

They left the town war and after only a few moments on the platform they joined the next one. Together they fought in several wars and they lost only a few of them. It was perfect.

But it was too much. The Juggernaut had been in town wars nonstop and he felt drained. Not his body, but his mind. He knew that he needed a break. Outside of the wars several years could've passed by now and he needed to go back, at least for a few weeks. He had friends who'd be concerned about him if he was gone for too long.

They stood around the crumpled heart of the enemy town, having won this war, too. "I need a break from town wars." He told the Lord of Avernus. "I have to write letters to some friends and I have to be outside of the wars for some time."

The Lord of Avernus didn't react but after having fought side by side with him for this long, Yurnero had learned to look for the tiniest signs. And he could see the tightening of his shoulders and how his hand gripped the reigns of the horse tighter.

"We could stay in the inn together and in a few weeks go to town wars again. If you want." The tension in the Lord's body lessened but he still didn't answer. "I need to train when we are back, get the feeling of fighting outside of the town wars. You could fight against me in training."

Finally the Lord of Avernus turned. "You think I'm skilled enough to be a challenge for you in a sword fight?"

"What?" What kind of question was that? And was that the only thing the Lord said to everything? The Juggernaut wasn't sure he'd ever get used to the strangeness of the male. To his clipped way of speaking. But if that was the only important thing for him: "Skilled enough to get me back into my normal skill-level. It isn't about challenging me or defeating me or me defeating you. It's basically just so I don't have to hit some puppet or such, that's boring and looks weird when I do it a whole day. Or several days. So... I kind of just want some company. But, to answer your question: I do think you're skilled enough to be a challenge for me. It just doesn't matter."

The horse shifted its weight and Yurnero almost missed the Lord's nod. He chuckled. "You should make sure your mount doesn't move when you actually want others to see that you do things like nodding or such. It is disadvantageous when your horse conceals your answer to a question."

With a snort from the horse, which totally masked a snort from the rider, the Lord of Avernus started to move away.

"Hey!" Yurnero called. "You think I didn't realize by now what your damn horse does?"

The Lord stopped with his back to the Juggernaut. He didn't look back, only turned his head about half way, his profile visible (not that there was much to see short of the hood of the cape concealing the head of the Lord. "I know. And I also know that you can see and hear through it. That's why I don't bother to make Ruin stop."

Speechless, the Juggernaut stared at the Lord of Avernus. Because this, _this_ , was a huge show of trust. He hid himself from everyone but he knew that Yurnero could see through it and he didn't care. It was okay for him. _He even counted on it_.

It was some kind of revelation. Yurnero felt much closer to the Lord all at once, as if they were friends and not just a carry and his support.

His grin was so wide, it almost hurt. But he couldn't stop. They went back to the starting platform, then crossed the plane to the inn. And Yurnero was still grinning like an idiot. It felt unbelievably nice to have the Lord of Avernus as his friend.

They could already see the inn, when the Juggernaut had a sudden thought. "Wait." He moved closer to the Lord of Avernus on his horse. He held his hand out to the rider. "My name is Yurnero." They had fought side by side for so long now but still hadn't properly introduced themselves. It wasn't common to do so in the town wars. Even when he knew the name of someone he seldom addressed the creature by it. To be called by name was kind of personal, too personal for some town war after which one didn't see each other again. But, regardless of the fact that they had been fighting so many wars together, they were going to spend time outside of the wars together, too. And Yurnero felt like he should at least offer the Lord of Avernus to call him by his name. He wasn't sure if the male would return this offer but that was okay.

Since he was used by now to the fact that the Lord of Avernus took time to answer questions and to react to things, the Juggernaut waited, his hand stretched out. He was rewarded. The Lord of Avernus slowly released the rains of his horse and took the outstretched hand in his.

Yurnero didn't feel anything through the thick gloves of the Lord except that his hand felt solid. That didn't narrow the number of possible races the Lord of Avernus belonged to down very much. But it was good to know, the Juggernaut thought. He had a solid body (he couldn't have been sure before since he had never seen anything from said body).

"Thank you." A shiver down Yurnero's back. He wondered if he'd ever get used to that voice. The Lord of Avernus pulled his hand back and though the Juggernaut had thought it would be okay if he didn't offer his name, too, he was definitely disappointed. He just wanted to continue to the inn, when the Lord spoke again.

"I'm Abaddon."

Damn was he glad that he had a mask over his face. The Juggernaut grinning like an idiot was not something anyone was supposed to see.


	5. Chapter 4

They didn't do anything on that day since it was already getting dark by the time they reached the inn. The Lord of Avernus vanished into his room without a word but Yurnero had the feeling he was tired. Exhausted even. Maybe he was one of the creatures who got tired after returning from a town war. He would've asked the Lord but was sure he wouldn't get an answer. So he simply sat down in the inn and ordered a cup of water. He took some paper and a quill and wrote a letter to his two friends. Since he didn't know how long he'd been gone and he didn't want them to worry. He didn't write much, just the basics (been in town wars, everything okay, staying at the inn for a few days). He sent the letters and went to bed early. Seemed a little pathetic to sit in an inn all by himself.

The next day started alone, too. The Juggernaut had breakfast and then began his training. When he made a break, he checked on the Lord's horse but the creature was fine. The stable boys (or better: stable _creatures_ ) here were used to unusual mounts of all kinds and the horse wasn't that unique a beast to pose a problem for them.

It was midday by the time the Lord of Avernus walked out of the door. So he _had_ been tired. Or he just was a late riser, which Yurnero couldn't imagine. It was odd to see the Lord walking and not sitting on his horse. He never dismounted during the town wars.

The Lord of Avernus (Abaddon, and wow did it feel awesome to address him with his name, even if it was only in Yurnero's head) didn't spot him directly. The Juggernaut hat seen him the moment he had stepped outside and he knew that it was because he had been watching the door. He turned away and stared at the puppet in front of him, at which he had been hitting. He frowned, looked at his blade, then at the puppet. To be honest, he hadn't done that much hitting, had been too occupied with constantly keeping an eye on the door of the inn. Only now, when he realized what he had been doing, he got a little mad at himself. He shouldn't be that fixated on some creature he barely knew. What was wrong with him? Of course they had agreed to train together but it wasn't as if he couldn't do anything on his own. He didn't depend on the Lord of Avernus! They were not even friends.

It took awfully long before Abaddon stepped into his field of vision but Yurnero had forced himself not to turn around, not to search for him, to keep hitting that stupid puppet in front of him. The fact that he had to force himself not to keep looking only fuelled his anger.

The Lord of Avernus had probably been taking care of his mount, as he should do. But by the time he finally arrived at the training area, the Juggernaut was more than irritated. Both at himself and at the Lord. Great start for a training fight. Not.

Since the Lord had already entered the training area and had his sword in hand, Yurnero immediately charged him, ignoring how Abaddon had hesitated and how he had wanted to say something. The Juggernaut didn't want to hear his voice, it'd only make him shiver and that would make him even more irritated at the male. He just wanted to fight by now. And so he attacked without warning. He was sure that the Lord of Avernus could take whatever he dished out, he had seen him fight in the town wars after all.

And, as predicted, the Lord blocked every hit. He slowly backed away while he defended himself until he had reached the edge of the training area. It made Yurnero angry. He wanted to fight, to make this irritation, this anger, go away, to be challenged, maybe to hurt so he wouldn't have to feel anything else except all the smaller and greater pains in his body after a successful fight.

 _This_ wasn't what he had wanted. This was a one-sided thing, him being the aggressor and it didn't satisfy him. The Juggernaut growled, wanting to get a response out of the Lord of Avernus, wanting to get him to act. And so he readied himself for a fury of blades.

Just when he was about to jump, the Lord lowered his sword. "Stop."

Yurnero almost tripped over his own feet as he tried to halt his movement, as he tried not to hit his opponent while he wasn't defending himself. He regained his balance before he could make a complete fool of himself and stood, breathing heavily, in front of the Lord.

"You said this wouldn't be about challenge or defeat." Abaddon's eyes shone brightly as he stared at Yurnero, his focus unwavering. He had seldom looked at the Juggernaut and never like that. Paired with his words, it made Yurnero growl again, though it sounded strangely defensive. Because damn, he was _right_.

Not wanting to look into his eyes, the Juggernaut turned away and stalked back into the middle of the training area. There he angrily sat down, almost throwing his blade on the ground next to him. He had let his feelings take the lead, had let anger rule his fight, and that knowledge made him furious. It was frustrating as hell.

The Lord of Avernus approached him and sat down next him. "Go away." The words were growled out through clenched teeth, the Juggernaut not wanting to face the source of his anger. Of course Abaddon wasn't to blame for it (the blame lay all with himself, Yurnero thought, and his strange fixation on the Lord) but it had all started with the male.

For a moment, the Lord of Avernus didn't move. Then, without a word, he got up and went to leave.

Before he really knew what he was doing, the Juggernaut grabbed his sleeve. He struggled with his feelings, torn between wanting the Lord to leave while simultaneously wanting him to stay, to train as he had asked him to. He struggled with his anger, too, knowing that it didn't belong here and that it wasn't okay to throw it at the Lord like that.

Patiently, the Lord of Avernus waited. He didn't move, his sleeve in Yurnero's hand, and waited for whatever the Juggernaut would decide he wanted.

When he _had_ decided, it was an equal struggle to get the words out of his mouth that would formulate his wish. And even before that, the more important thing.

"I'm sorry." He _was_ sorry. He shouldn't have acted the way he had. "Stay and train with me." A growl because, damn, he was the Juggernaut. Not as if he had to _ask_ for anything, from anyone or apologize to anyone, for anything. Though he had to admit, he had done so with Alleria and Rylai before. Sometimes he did rash things and the two girls both had a death glare that could make him squirm. And because he knew what he had to say, too: "Please."

The Lord of Avernus turned a little and took the Juggernaut's wrist with his free hand. The Juggernaut frowned. Confused by this, by how the male just touched him without trying to achieve something by it, he loosed his hold on the sleeve. But the Lord didn't release his wrist immediately. Yurnero looked up at him but could see nothing, not even his eyes.

"All right." The Lord of Avernus stepped back, letting go of Yurnero's wrist, and drew his sword.

Relief. Pure relief flooded the Juggernaut's body and he took a deep breath before he got up. He ignored how the agreement of Abaddon to stay made him feel because he didn't want to get irritated or angry again. He didn't like to depend on someone, didn't like when him feeling sad or lonely was tied to one creature. He hated it with Alleria and Rylai, too, but at least they were open about their feelings, talked with him, visited him and such. With the Lord of Avernus it was complicated and Yurnero couldn't place their relationship. Were they friends enough to talk about feelings? To visit each other? To miss each other? He didn't think so and pushed it all aside for the moment.

The two males trained. Since Yurnero had been up for quite a while, his arms were soon burning from the effort it took to hold a sword, his feet ached, his shoulders hurt and he was itching everywhere from all the sweating. And he was hungry.

He couldn't understand how the Lord of Avernus could seem so unaffected by everything. His movements were as precise as always, he never faltered or stumbled, he never lost his focus.

Though it was a little like giving up, Yurnero stopped eventually. "I need a break. Drink something, and eat." His breathing was heavy and he almost cut his leg when he sheathed his blade. He would've growled but that would just waste useful energy so he refrained from doing so.

Abaddon sheathed his blade, too, and started walking towards the inn. When Yurnero didn't follow immediately, he stopped and turned around. The Juggernaut snorted in amused annoyance. "Go on, I have to at least stop sweating and wash before I go inside. I've been kicked out once because I was dripping on the floor. They hate that."

He didn't bother waiting for an answer but left the training area in the opposite direction, where he flopped down on the grass. He sighed and closed his eyes. Abaddon was a challenging training partner. Not because he was awfully strong or awfully fast or such, but because he had never-ending endurance and he was kind of indestructible. In a real fight Yurnero might win but there were just techniques he'd never use in training against another creature. They were too hard to counter and the possibility to injure his opponent was too high.

Though the Lord made almost no sound as he sat down next to him, Yurnero heard it. Or maybe he felt his presence, he wasn't completely sure. They didn't talk or anything, the Juggernaut didn't even open his eyes as he relaxed. They ate together and then they trained some more.

The same the next day. The Lord of Avernus slept as long as the first day so he probably always got up late like that. In the evening, they were disrupted by the screeching of a female. "Yurnero!" She came running into the training area and flung herself into the Juggernauts arms. He was so perplexed, he almost dropped his sword as he staggered a few steps backwards with the Windrunner clinging to his body. "You fucker! Do you even know how worried I was about you? You were gone without a word for over two years!" She had her face buried in his neck, her lips soft against his skin as she talked. Her hug was tight and he got the impression that she'd not let go for a while. So he walked out of the training area, one arm supporting Alleria's weight, and dropped into the grass.

He had been right, the woman hadn't moved and hadn't loosened her hold any. Yurnero scrunched his nose. Damn, she succeeded in getting him to have a bad conscious. She had obviously been worried (Rylai had probably been, too) and he should've written her sometime between the town wars. It wouldn't have been a problem at all to do so. He had just, well, forgotten to do so. At first he had been occupied with wallowing in his loneliness and then he had been too absentminded, all his thoughts focused on the Lord of Avernus fighting by his side.

"I'm sorry."

"I hope you are, you useless toad." She let go of him and leaned back, facing him now while she was sitting on his lap. "I missed you. Did you at least have some fun?"

The Juggernaut thought of the Lord of Avernus and smiled. Of course Alleria knew immediately that he was smiling. She gasped. "Oh fuck, you..." She jumped up and pulled him with her. "Come, whatever you're gonna tell me, I want to see your face."

The words made him cringe, not because he didn't like her to see his face but because she'd see all these emotions he was hiding even from himself. As they walked back to the inn, the Windrunner almost dragging him along, he scanned the area for Abaddon. But the male had vanished. Strange.

He didn't have much time to think about it, though. Up in his room, Alleria stepped back and looked at him expectantly. With a sigh, Yurnero took the mask off. He kept it in his hand, feeling way too uneasy without it. It was some kind of protection and without it he felt naked. Vulnerable.

Alleria grinned. "Now, tell me. Who made you smile like that? And made you forget me!"

He grimaced, then grimaced again because she could see the grimace without the mask. Then he growled. But the female in front of him only laughed. With a weary sigh, the Juggernaut sank down on the bed. "It's the Lord of Avernus."

"What?" She sounded incredulous. "You are kidding me, right?"

The Juggernaut glared at her. Just what he had wanted, his best friend making fun of him. He had told himself more than once how stupid his focus on the male was. He knew nothing about him and still he liked to have him around, to fight side by side with him, to train with him after the town war. Maybe this was enough to base 'liking someone' on, but it definitely wasn't much.

Alleria's laugh made him snarl at her. "Oh come on, you have to admit it's kind of funny." When he just kept glaring at her, she shook her head and sat down next to him. One of her hands covered his, where it was holding his mask too tightly. "It's okay. I didn't want to make you angry. How many wars did you fight together?"

"I don't know. Many." He hadn't counted, had just been glad to have company. To have someone by his side he enjoyed fighting with.

"So you get along with him now?" At his nod, she snuggled closer against him, leaned her head on his shoulder and smiled, he could feel it. She smelled nice, like the wind and the woods. "Want to tell me a few things?"

Yurnero hesitated, but only a bit. As soon as he begun to talk about Abaddon, he found that he couldn't stop. He talked about everything and strangely, there _was_ much to tell. Maybe he didn't know as little as he had thought he did. Yes, there were some basic things missing, like his race or how he looked and stuff like that. But there was so much he did know. And speaking about it all was freeing.

When he stopped talking, Alleria was still smiling against his shoulder. "That sounds very much like infatuation, don't you think."

A snort. A half shrug with the shoulder she wasn't leaning against. A sigh.

That summed up his feelings on the matter quite well. In words it would've been 'damn, no', 'fuck, maybe', 'shit, yes'. Since there was only so much to tell and Yurnero didn't want any advice or something, he changed the topic. "What did you do the last years? Are you solo again? Your shadows are kind of missing."

"No, I sent the two to a boys-only weekend. Davion always holds back when he's with me, if only a little and I want him to completely let go. It'll do him good. And Gondar is fully able to cope with it. Maybe it'll be good for him, too. I think he often still waits for us to drop him. As if he weren't worth our affection. _And_ I totally do want some alone time sometimes."

"And the Dragon Knight lets you visit me in your alone time?"

"Oh, well, I got your letter when they were already gone. So..."

"He doesn't know you're with me."

"No, he doesn't. I'll tell him tomorrow."

"He'll be angry."

"Maybe. Maybe not. I think he was worried about you, too." Alleria sat up and Yurnero stretched his back. They had been sitting like that for over two hours now.

He stood up and put his mask on the bedside table. "You want to stay the night?" It was already getting dark outside and he didn't really think she'd want to leave now.

The Windrunner took a look at the bed. Then at him. "Cuddle?"

His smile was bright and he didn't care that she could see it.

They settled in, Yurnero on his back with Alleria resting her head on his shoulder, her front snug against his side. They talked more, until it was pitch black outside. Yurnero fell asleep first, lulled in by the female's soft voice as she spoke about this and that.

The next morning, the Windrunner had to leave early. "My boys will be back soon and they'll worry when I'm not there. Besides," she grinned cheekily, "they'll be _very happy_ to see me again." She wriggled her eyebrows suggestively and Yurnero laughed. Damn, it was a long time since he last had sex.

As soon as Alleria was gone (blowing him a kiss as she ran towards the forest), Yurnero went to check on Abaddon's horse. He knew he didn't have to but it had already become a habit of sort.

In front of the box the mount had been the last days, he stopped. Froze.

It was gone. The horse was gone, the box empty. The Juggernaut stared. Then he searched the stall. Maybe they had put the horse somewhere else? Next he went outside, it could be around somewhere. The longer he searched, the more frantic he became. Because when the horse was gone it meant the rider was gone, too. And he hadn't even said goodbye!

He took his stuff and left the inn. He didn't take the time to think about his actions. He went to the flight master to go after the Lord. But, he didn't know where he lived! "Fucking shit." He growled and the flight master eyed him suspiciously. He had two options now: follow Alleria and ask the Dragon Knight. Since he had been the one to bring the Lord of Avernus along to their first town war together, he probably knew where he lived. But then he'd have to come between their sex-time after their weekend apart. Or wait until they were finished. He snarled.

His second option was Rylai. She knew everything, about everyone. She had some kind of information network and he had never heard of anything the Maiden hadn't already known. He was sure she knew more about the Lord of Avernus than anyone else. He could ask her all these things that he was so curious about but he wouldn't do that. He'd simply ask her where Abaddon lived. Everything else he wanted to learn from the Lord, not from asking someone else. Because it had something to do with trust and he desperately craved for Abaddon's trust.

So he took the flying mount to get to the town closest to Rylai's ice castle. As soon as he landed, he hated it here. It was cold, there was snow everywhere, the sky was cloudy and there were solely humans around. Everyone he passed stared at him, like he was some freak. In their eyes he probably was.

Since he knew the way, he started in the direction of the ice castle without delay. After five minutes his feet hurt from the snow he had to walk through. Another five minutes later, he was shivering from the cold. And half an hour later his legs were burning from the effort it took to move through the powdery white. He would've snarled and growled but he needed all his energy to get to the castle. Why did the Crystal Maiden have to build her ice castle in the middle of nowhere? In the middle of a white, snowy and _cold_ nowhere? After another ten minutes, he reached the top of the hill he had been climbing. And finally he could see the castle. It was in the middle of a frozen lake and it was magnificent. Even when the sun wasn't shining it almost sparkled. If it hadn't been so fucking cold and he had still felt his feet, he would've been impressed. As it was, the Juggernaut only was relieved to have reached his destination.

The door of the castle (or more like the gate) opened and a serving woman took him inside. She led him to a room, where a fire was burning high. She almost pushed him into an armchair, then left, but only a few minutes later she returned with a mug of something steaming. Yurnero sipped at it and sighed. It was hot chocolate. Heavenly. He had the mug half finished, when Rylai stormed into the room.

"Yurnero! How nice to see you! I was already debating with Naya when we should visit you." She came over and hugged him. Said Naya, or better Lanaya the Templar Assassin, came in, too. She nodded at Yurnero shortly before she sat down in another armchair.

"Yeah, well, hallo. I don't have much time right now. I wanted to ask you something."

"Oh, okay." The Maiden frowned, but in a split second she was smiling again. "So we'll visit you, as we planned." She looked up at the Templar Assassin, who rolled her eyes, then smiled back. She didn't have her half mask over her face and she wasn't wearing her shoulder armour. It was strange to see her in what probably were her casual clothes. And then she even smiled? "I didn't really think I'd get out of visiting him."

"Perfect." Rylai focused back on Yurnero. "So, what did you want to know?"

"Can you tell me where the Lord of Avernus lives?"

"Um, sure I can. Why? I hope you don't want to kill him, or hurt him, or something. Cause then I won't give you the information."

"No. I..." What did he tell her? He didn't want to go through the whole story again. "He forgot something and I want to give it back to him." That wasn't entirely the truth but it wasn't too much of a lie. "We fought a few town wars together."

Rylai stared at him, as if she was searching his face for a clue if he was telling the truth. Even underneath his mask Yurnero felt too exposed. The Maiden nodded and smiled. "I'll even lend you one of our mounts. It can bring you directly to his house. Otherwise you'd have to walk extremely far. The Lord of Avernus lives away from any flight master."

"Thank you very much." He wanted to get up, but Rylai pushed him back into the armchair.

"Not so fast. First you'll drink another hot chocolate, then you'll eat something. And while you do that, you'll tell me why you are walking through snow and ice to find out where the Lord of Avernus lives. You hate the cold way too much to endure it simply to give the man something back he forgot."

The Juggernaut sighed. So he had to tell about him and Abaddon again. He should've known that Rylai wouldn't buy his lie. Not even while he was wearing his mask. He didn't tell the Maiden as much, just some basics, that they had fought together many wars and that he had grown to like the Lord. That they had been training and that he had left without saying goodbye. He had the feeling though that she knew what he _wasn't_ saying. She didn't pry and Yurnero was grateful for it. He really didn't want to talk about it again.

When Rylai was satisfied (and the Juggernaut had gotten enough food to make him full the whole day) she took him to her flying mounts. She had several and chose a large white dragon. "Just send him back when you are there. He'll find his way home." Rylai kissed him on both cheeks before she whispered: "Good luck." He was sure she wanted to say more, to give him some advice or something, but she stepped back, next to the Templar Assassin, and smiled at him. The Assassin, he would've never believed it if he hadn't seen it, kissed the Maiden on the temple until she snuggled a little closer.

He had known that the two women were good together, had heard about it, but to see them like that, it made him a tad envious. He was looking for a relationship for forever, for a partner, a friend, someone he could spend his time with, someone he could tell everything and, of course, someone he could have sex with. But so far, there hadn't been the right one. Not that it was easy, with his trust problems. But he was sure the Templar Assassin had trust problems equal to his, and she had found Rylai, one of the most wonderful creatures he knew. There had to be someone for him out there, too. He didn't dare to put Abaddon into that spot. He didn't even know if the Lord was into males. Yurnero didn't even know if he could be sexually attracted to him. Up to this point, it was simply that he liked Abaddon and that he hoped they could at least be friends. Everything else was too far away.

With nothing more to say, the Juggernaut mounted the dragon. "Thank you. And you are welcome to visit whenever you want."

The dragon spread its wings and jumped off the starting platform it had been standing on. It was so fast, within seconds the ice castle was gone from Yurnero's view.

It was a long flight and the Juggernaut was extremely exhausted when the dragon landed. He was glad Rylai had forced him to eat because otherwise he would be hungry now in addition to being tired as fuck. It was already dark and he couldn't see much of the house in front of which they were standing. But it had to be the right one, Rylai wouldn't send him to the wrong place. So he dismounted and sent the dragon away.

He stared at the door, suddenly unsure why he was here and what he was doing. He only got more tired with every passing second, so he stepped forward and knocked. Seconds became minutes and no one answered. He knocked again but no one opened.

 _Great_ , he thought. Either Abaddon was sleeping and didn't hear him or he wasn't at home. Tired and disappointed, Yurnero leaned his back against the door. Then he slid to the ground. He looked at the sky, where a few stars were shining. He wouldn't go anywhere anymore today. Within moments, he was asleep, propped up against the door of the house of the Lord of Avernus. He held his sword, the blade lying across his lap, his legs were stretched out and one shoulder leaned against the doorframe, as did his head.

That was how the Lord of Avernus found him the next morning.

The Juggernaut woke with a start as a horse snorted right in front of him. In the same moment, someone said his name. He'd recognize this voice everywhere. So instead of jumping up, ready to battle whoever had woken him like that, he stopped mid-movement.

"What are you doing here?" Abaddon dismounted. Yurnero remained sitting on the ground. His back ached a bit from sleeping against the door-frame and he thought his legs might be asleep. He wanted to give his body some time to wake up. No use in hurrying to get up and then stumble or fall back down. That was just dumb.

Looking at the Lord of Avernus and relaxing against the door after he had been startled like that, he answered: "You left without a word." He frowned, wanted to say more but didn't know what. _How_.

As always, the Lord of Avernus didn't answer right away. He did stretch his arm out though, offering the Juggernaut a hand to pull him up. Abaddon's hand around Yurnero's wrist and vice versa. When he was standing, the Lord didn't draw his hand back immediately but steadied the Juggernaut for a moment. He wasn't much smaller and he was surely as muscled as Yurnero.

"You obviously had company for the evening. From the way the Windrunner was clutching you and pulling you to your room, I assumed for the night, too. I didn't think you'd notice that I left."

Thinking about it, it had probably looked like that. Yurnero scrunched his nose. "Alleria kept me company, but not like that. We are friends and she had been worried about me because I was gone so long without telling her where I'd be." He hesitated but since it wasn't really a secret (and if he wanted Abaddon to trust him, he'd have to tell him a few things, too, eventually) he added: "I'm gay. We only talked. And I did realize that you were gone the next morning."

The snort from the horse almost covered the surprised 'oh' from the Lord. And Yurnero saw how his body lost some of its tension. It hadn't been obvious but now that his shoulders lowered and his stance relaxed, it was obvious that something had bothered him. The thought that the Juggernaut had been with someone? That he had been with a woman? That would certainly be wishful thinking. It was probably just the fact that they had begun to become friends and Yurnero had left him for some woman like that. He had said that he hadn't thought he'd be missed. And that was just wrong.

Abaddon hesitated. Then: "You want to come in?" No comment on him being gay.

That was something Yurnero hadn't expected. To be true, he hadn't let himself think about what could happen but this was different than anything he might've thought of. To be invited into the house of the Lord of Avernus.

A slow grin spread over his face. "That would be awesome." And he didn't care how much is grin was evident in his voice.

Only then did the Lord release his grip on Yurnero's wrist to open the door.


	6. Chapter 5

The house wasn't what the Juggernaut had pictured as the living place of the Lord of Avernus. And he almost laughed as the male lead his horse into the house, too. He let his mount live inside with him? And not in some extra chamber (like Rylai and several other creatures he knew) but in the whole house.

They followed a long hallway where most doors were closed. As the hallway morphed into a huge hall with a stairwell, Abaddon moved to the left, to a huge double-winged door. It was open and behind it was a breath-taking room. It wasn't its size, though it was rather large, but more its interior that left the Juggernaut staring speechlessly. One side of the room was filled with windows that reached from the floor to the ceiling, making the room bright with sunlight. The scenery outside was awesome, all green grass and forests and some hills. The colour of the plants changed in the distance from green to red until the mountains on the horizon seemed to burn under the sun.

The room itself was all light woods and blues, dark and light. On the curtains, the table cloth and the pictures on the walls. There was a huge table with way too little chairs for its size and the chairs looked rather uncomfortable. They were clearly not designed to chill around in them.

The walls were painted with pictures all in blue, scenes of battles but also of some forests with creatures milling around and in a regular pattern there was this one picture of a rift, smoke drifting up from it as it split the earth. The scenes were separated by wooden beams. Nothing stood in front of the walls as not to block the view on the pictures so the room was, except for the table, relatively empty. It was beautiful, though, with the wooden floor and ceiling and all the blue tones on the pictures. All in all, the Lord of Avernus seemed not to belong in here, all dark that he was.

Abaddon gestured to a chair and when Yurnero sat down, he left. Since he supposed the Lord wanted him to wait, the Juggernaut used the time to look at the painted scenes on the walls. They were extremely detailed and he wondered who had painted them. Had Abaddon built the house or had he inherited it? Did he live here alone?

Some time passed but finally the Lord came back, a tray full of food in both hands. He put it on the table, placed a plate in front of Yurnero, sat down next to him and moved the tray in the middle between them. He didn't say one word, just began to eat.

Yurnero smiled and dug in.

They ate in silence, not that the Juggernaut had expected anything else.

To eat with the mask on was difficult and Yurnero hated it. And so he breached the subject of his mask and Abaddon's cloak sooner than was maybe wise. "If I take my mask off, would you put your cloak and hood away?"

Even before he had finished the sentence he felt the Lord of Avernus tensing beside him. He stopped mid movement, his fork halfway to his mouth.

"No." And because it didn't already disappoint Yurnero enough, the Lord added, with firm conviction: "Never."

He resumed eating but the tension was still there. The Juggernaut stared at his plate and frowned. He didn't really see the food, just gazed at nothing. He _was_ disappointed.

He hadn't thought about what he had wanted to say, had made the offer on a whim. But the rejection hurt more than he would've thought. Because to offer this, it was something special. At present only two creatures still alive had seen his face.

It was as if their relationship, the friendship Yurnero was feeling towards Abaddon, was one-sided. The Lord of Avernus had left without saying goodbye, the Juggernaut had followed him because of it. Now the Juggernaut wanted them to stop hiding from each other and the Lord of Avernus refused. One-sided. As if he was chasing after a possible friendship when in truth here was nothing to chase at all because Abaddon didn't want there to be anything.

After a moment he resumed eating, too, simply out of politeness. He didn't taste anything anymore, though, and so he put the fork down after only a few more bites. He felt rejected and only wanted to leave. It shouldn't be like that, it shouldn't affect him so much, but it did. Obviously he had seen more in their relationship than it actually was. More than the Lord of Avernus saw in it at least.

"Thank you for breakfast. I think I'll leave now." Yurnero stood up and Abaddon did too. Their way to the door was made in silence. Nothing new there.

After stepping through the door, Yurnero turned once more and looked at Abaddon. It had been good with him by his side. But it seemed they were heading nowhere together. Obviously the Lord had reached the limit of his comfort zone and wasn't willing to leave it. That was all right, though it did hurt. The Juggernaut would have invested more into this friendship because it had felt so right. Even though he didn't trust easily. But he didn't want this to be one-sided. So he'd leave now, before leaving would hurt even more. The Lord of Avernus had set the boundaries for their relationship and the Juggernaut would heed them. Maybe he'd come back one day to fight a few more town wars with him. But not soon, he supposed.

When he departed, the Lord of Avernus looked as always. His eyes were glowing softly in the darkness underneath his hood. Every part of his body was hidden by armour and clothes. And though Yurnero knew things about this strange creature no one else probably knew, there was still too much he didn't know. Too much to call the male in front of him truly his friend.

A last nod, with no reaction as answer, before he turned around.

"Wait." A hand brushed over Yurnero's arm but when he whirled around it was pulled back with a start. "I... I'm sorry. It's just... I... I can't."

There was so much obvious regret in Abaddon's voice, that Yurnero's heart was heavy in his chest, not for himself but for the Lord of Avernus. But it didn't really change anything. There was nothing he could do as long as the male closed himself off. It did ease his pain a little and the Juggernaut smiled, though it held a touch of sadness. "Don't be. It's fine. I'm still your friend and when you need me you can always come and find me. Or when you want to have company in some town wars. Or whatever." He hesitated but then he went with what felt right. He stepped forward and hugged Abaddon. It was a short hug, but still.

The Lord of Avernus didn't stop him again as he left but he could feel his gaze for a long time. He didn't turn around.

Yurnero wasn't sure why he felt that way, why he felt so devastated about the rejection from Abaddon, why he felt the need to leave. But he did. Maybe he had expected too much. Maybe he overreacted with his behaviour right now. To leave pouting because of something like that? But then it was a big deal to offer to take his mask off and Abaddon had to know it. This was something the Juggernaut was more than sure the Lord could relate to.

Well, he had offered Abaddon to come to him. The next move was his.

The Juggernaut swore himself he wouldn't wait. In the end, he couldn't supress it.

* * *

It was years later that the Juggernaut saw the Lord of Avernus again. He hadn't given up hope but he had been able to stop always searching the horizon for a hooded rider. He had been able to stop checking his mail two times per day, had been able to stop sprinting to his door every time someone knocked.

It made seeing Abaddon in front of his home even more of a shock. He had opened the door but now he could only stare. And he almost couldn't believe it, the Lord of Avernus grew nervous. He fidgeted with his gloves and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. The horse behind him snorted, clearly not sure what it should do.

The Juggernaut got his posture back and leaned against his doorframe casually. "Hello, nice to see you again." And it was nice. He couldn't supress the smile that crept onto his face. When the Lord didn't answer, only his mount snorted again, he continued. "What can I do for you? Do you want to fight in a town war? Want to come in? Something else?"

He didn't really care, he'd do anything and gladly, as long as they'd do it together.

Abaddon shifted again, the horse snorted. He exhaled loudly. Then his glowing eyes focused on Yurnero. "I missed you."

Those words left Yurnero speechless for a moment. Then his grin got even wider. "That's good to hear, I suppose. Come in." He stepped aside to let him into his house. Or hut. Or tent. Or whatever one wanted to call it. Probably a tent, though it was rather big for one, with three rooms.

"Have a drink?" Without waiting for an answer he probably wouldn't get anyway, he pulled two horns out of a shelf and got some fresh and cold spring-water. He would've gotten his guest a beer or something but he only had water. He never drank anything else since water was best for his body, for his constitution.

During the years that had gone by, Yurnero had often thought about seeing Abaddon again. He hadn't been sure if it would ever happen because he hadn't been sure the Lord would come to him. At the beginning he had fought with himself not to traipse back to his door, desperate for his company, no matter how Abaddon had put boundaries onto their relationship that he, as he'd said, would never breach.

He had thought about going back, anyway, to fight in some more town wars together, but had decided against it. Time had passed and though Yurnero had been kind of infatuated with Abaddon, it hadn't been _that_ bad. He had gotten over him.

The way his heart sped up now, with the Lord just sitting at his table, not even having said anything more, told him how much he had lied to himself, though. "I missed you, too."

A sigh. And Abaddon shed his nervousness, his posture relaxing. "Would you like to go to a town war with me?"

Not what Yurnero wanted to hear, but all in all, it was a start. Abaddon had come to him, he had told him he had missed him (huge step there, talking about feelings!) and he wanted him to accompany him.

"Yes, I'd like that." They had been good together, they'd be good together again. Maybe Abaddon just needed more time. Maybe Yurnero had been too hasty back then. Maybe he had just moved too fast and it had frightened Abaddon. Or maybe nothing had changed and would never change. But there had been changes in their relationship. They had been slow. Very slow. But they had been there before. And on the other hand, Abaddon coming over, simply because he wanted the Juggernaut to join him for a war was a sign that he wanted some kind of friendship, too. He didn't _have_ to come.

Maybe Yurnero had overreacted to the Lord of Avernus not wanting to take his hood off. Seeing someone's face wasn't necessary to become friends. So the fact that the male was here, it was enough.

Yurnero would fight side by side with Abaddon again. He'd not breach the boundary the Lord had set and he'd try to keep his heart where it belonged. No more infatuation with some creature he barely knew.

But damn, it felt good to have his friend back, no matter how strange their friendship had been.

The Juggernaut packed what he needed and they left. He had remembered to write a short letter to Alleria and Rylai this time, telling them he was off to some town wars with the Lord of Avernus. They'd both know that it could be some time before he'd be back. They had both seen him after he had left Abaddon and they both knew that his infatuation had run deeper than Yurnero would ever admit.

They stepped onto the platform that would lead them to the town war. It was a different platform, one that was closer to Yurnero's home. He only went to the platform at the inn when he was looking for company in a town war or when he wanted to meet with others beforehand. Since he had company, he showed Abaddon to a platform in the steppes near which he lived.

It was hot and dry here and only little was growing. Rocks lay around as if someone had made a throwing contest from the mountains in the distance. A huge someone. Who could throw rocks the size of a Kodo. With every step they took a tiny cloud of dust whirled into the air around their feet (or hooves). It covered them in a fine layer of red-brown dirt and stuck to Yurnero's skin. When a drop of sweat ran down his body, there remained a track where his original skin colour showed through.

The Juggernaut wondered if the Lord of Avernus sweated, too. Maybe he was of some race which couldn't sweat. Maybe this strange black mist that always clung to his body prevented him from sweating. Maybe he didn't even feel the heat. At least he gave no sign that he did.

"I did some town wars the last years without you." Yurnero started. "But it wasn't the same. The other supports are all so, I don't know, _weak_. Squishy. It is exhausting to always have to look after them because they are not able to do so alone. And some are really nervous and hectic, as soon as there is a large fight. Some have useful abilities but that doesn't balance stupid behaviour." He spoke some more, about the town wars he had participated in and his allies, until they reached the starting platform. It was nice to have someone to talk to, even if Yurnero did all the talking. But the Lord hummed sometimes, in agreement to something, the sound vibrating through the Juggernaut's body.

Before they were ported to the town war, both already standing on the platform, Abaddon rose to speak: "I'm sorry it took me so long. I wasn't sure you wanted me to come to you. I thought you'd get angry or something, send me away. I'm not good with social interactions. Being around others makes me uncomfortable. It's different with you but I don't know what to do with this different. I... it makes me nervous. I never know what you think or how you feel. And you can see through the cover Ruin provides for me. Makes me torn between staying with you and running away as fast as I can." He shook his head, a gesture he had never done before. It was too obvious, something his mount couldn't mask. "I… I just thought I should tell you, before we go into another row of town wars. So you know." He straightened. His horse shifted.

Yurnero stared. Abaddon had just used more words in one speech than in all their time and all their conversations combined. And he had talked about his feelings. The Juggernaut was stunned. Not little of his astonishment came from the fact that he'd never thought Abaddon was nervous or unsure. Never _ever_. When he looked at the male on his horse, his posture full of confidence and calm readiness, it was the last thing he'd ever suspect.

He didn't want Abaddon to be nervous. And he certainly didn't want him to have the urge to _run away_. That was unacceptable. But easy to remedy. He raised his hand to remove the mask from his face.

"Stop." There was no trace of nervousness in Abaddon's voice, nothing. But it was probably there, Yurnero thought. "I won't take my hood off."

"I know. It doesn't matter." It didn't, Yurnero thought. He could see through so much of Abaddon's hiding while it seemed the male couldn't see through Yurnero's. So it was _fair_ to take the mask off. They'd be equal then. Besides, he didn't want to hide from Abaddon. There was nothing he wouldn't want him to see. This confession from the Lord, it showed enough of the male and it showed, most of all, that he trusted Yurnero enough to tell him all that about himself. It was a step forward, a step into friendship.

So the Juggernaut gripped the mask and lowered it, revealing his face to Abaddon. He smiled. "I don't need to hide anything from you. Not who I am and not what I think or feel. As long as others are around, I'll wear it but when we are alone it'll make it easier for you to read me."

For about a minute, Abaddon stared. Then: "You are an orc."

Yurnero grinned, which made his teeth more evident. His not-small-at-all orc tusks. "That was never a secret. Is it a problem?"

"No." Nothing more as the Lord kept staring, so the Juggernaut decided it was time to start the town war they had come for. He put his mask back over his face.

Something was different between him and Abaddon from that moment on. They moved even better together and the long pauses between answers from the Lord, when they talked, that had been there before, they were gone. As if the Lord had had to think about every word he'd said, about every gesture he'd made, about every tiny thing he'd done. And now he didn't anymore. He didn't speak more than before, but everything he did was more natural.

Every time their gazes crossed, Yurnero grinned. He didn't know if Abaddon knew he did so now that he'd seen his face but he hoped so. Because he wanted him to know he enjoyed their fights. Sadly enough, they lost the first town war. It didn't deter them and they immediately joined a second one. And a third one. Yurnero lost count of the wars they fought in.

After they had won three wars in a row, Yurnero suggested that it was enough for now and they left. They appeared on the platform from which they had started. The Juggernaut took a look around, not that he really expected to see anyone here in the middle of the stony steppes, and took his mask off. He kept holding it in one hand to be able to put it back fast enough should the need arise.

He grinned at Abaddon. "That was awesome. Fighting with you by my side is awesome. I assume you'll stay a few days more to train with me?" He paused and frowned. Something was wrong. The Lord was slouched in the saddle, not his usual confident posture. "What is it? Don't you feel well?"

"Tired." He mumbled, the snort from the horse almost drowning his words out. "Need to sleep."

It had been like that after the last town wars, too. Yurnero remembered how the Lord had immediately vanished into his room after the wars and had been up very late the following days. Only then had the Lord hidden his tiredness. "Is your horse tired, too? We could run. I'm as fast as a horse for a limited time. And it isn't that far to my home."

He got no answer but the mount lengthened its steps until it fell into an easy gallop. Yurnero sheathed his blade and put the mask over his face so he could better run. About half an hour later they arrived at Yurnero's tent. He was breathing heavily and sweat was streaming down his body.

As soon as the horse stopped, Abaddon slid down. He almost staggered, until his mount shifted, steadying him.

"Come." The Juggernaut opened the door and led the Lord of Avernus to his bed. The male immediately crashed on it and it didn't take more than two seconds for him to be fast asleep. Yurnero debated if he should take off his boots or something to make it more comfortable for him but decided against it. The Lord would surely not want him to do that.

Back outside, he looked after the horse. Ruin. But the mount was doing fine.

Yurnero sat down in front of the tent. What iron control Abaddon had had the last two times, when he had gone back to the inn with them. Yurnero had seen absolutely no sign that he had been that worn out. Tired, yes, he had suspected as much, at least the second time, but this wasn't simply tired. This was bone deep exhaustion.

The Lord had known before they had entered the town war that they would get back to this platform. That they'd arrive near Yurnero's home. He had known that he'd be exhausted after the war. That he'd have to tell Yurnero. That he'd be kind of helpless in his hands. It was a huge sign of trust. It was probably even more worth than the removal of his hood. Who cared what was under the hood? This, to be cold out in someone else's bed, and to go into this with full knowledge that it would happen... Yurnero felt a flare of tenderness for the male. Damn, and he hadn't wanted to get infatuated with him again. This hadn't taken long. He growled softly but wasn't really upset.

The horse didn't suffer from the same problem as its rider. It had begun roaming the area immediately around the tent and when it didn't find anything interesting, it came back. The Juggernaut prepared something to drink for it before he did some stuff that was necessary around his home. Check old traps, place new traps. Check the tent for damage, repair it. Stock up his water supplies. He could go hunting but didn't really want to leave Abaddon alone. Check his armour and his blade, sharpen the latter and clean the first.

That night he slept on the floor of his living-room instead of his bed. And he didn't mind one bit.

When he was at home, he usually didn't wear his full armour. He only wore some pants and his mask on a belt to put it on should someone arrive. It felt strange not to wear the mask, because he was more at other places than at home so he wore his mask more than he did not, but it was easier that way. (It had been pure luck that he had been at home when the Lord of Avernus had come. Or maybe the Lord had been there several times? Or he had gotten the information where the orc lived from Rylai and the woman definitely knew when he was at home and when not.)

Yurnero tended the horse though the creature didn't want him to take off the reins. Then he did some daily chores. Especially when he wasn't at home for long stretches there was much to do. And he didn't expect Abaddon to rise before midday.

He prepared a meal for two but ate alone before he continued outside. He had had a garden once but in the steppes everything withered if it wasn't properly watered so there was nothing left except a fence where the garden had been. He thought shortly about starting it again but it wasn't any more likely that he'd stay at home than it had been then. So he left it as it was.

It was actually late afternoon when the Lord of Avernus stepped out of the door. He stopped there and looked around. Yurnero was working on some leather he had made and didn't want to stop in the middle of it. "Good morning. There's some food in the kitchen if you're hungry." Not that he doubted the Lord was, after how long he had slept. He vanished into the tent, probably to get said food. Then the Lord looked after his horse before he sat down next to where Yurnero was working. He didn't say anything, just watched him.

The Juggernaut finished his work with the leather before he looked up and smiled at the Lord. "Did you have a good night's rest? It's rather late but if you feel like it we could still start with some training."

When he didn't get an answer immediately he suddenly realized that he wasn't wearing his mask. He hadn't even itched to put it back on, a phenomenon he sometimes had when he was around Alleria. He felt too exposed and craved the cover his mask provided. Not so now. He simply wondered what Abaddon saw on his face that made him stare like that, because he was sure the male was staring.

But then the Lord got up and nodded without commenting on anything else.

With a broad grin the Juggernaut pointed in the direction of his 'training area'. It was just a place next to his tent where he had removed every object one could possibly stumble over and where he had hardened the ground. He put the leather away and drew his blade. And found out very quickly that without his mask he was no challenge for the Lord of Avernus at all. The male was able to anticipate every move the Juggernaut was about to make and within an hour they took the first break.

Yurnero's body burned from the strain. His arms being the worst, closely followed by his shoulders, back and legs. He was dripping sweat and when he had drunken enough water he sank down right where he had been standing and lay down on the ground, his eyes closed while he tried to get his breath and heartbeat back under control. "I think I'll have to wear my mask when I'm fighting against you. This is way too easy for you."

He could feel Abaddon sitting down by his side. "You are always one step ahead of me. And since I can't see your face I can't anticipate what you'll do. It would be more equal if you'd shed your hood." Yurnero could almost feel how Abaddon tensed, though he wasn't nearly sitting close enough to actually do so. Yurnero growled and waved one hand through the air without aim or purpose. "Just saying. I'm not asking anything of you. I can handle some little competition during training."

A low sigh. "Thank you."

Yurnero huffed out a short laughter. "For what?"

"Well, for not pressing matters. And for taking things as they are. For accepting the boundaries I set."

"No need to thank me for that." He cracked one eye open. Abaddon was looking into the distance. Well, nothing of his face was visible from the side but Yurnero supposed he was looking into the distance. He got up on his elbows. "Ready for round two?" The break had been long enough. His arms still burned, but only a little. Nothing that wasn't normal or that he couldn't handle.


	7. Chapter 6

They had only been training half a day but when the sun was setting the Juggernaut thought he might die. He lay next to his tent in the 'training area', arms and legs spread wide and didn't want to get up anymore. The last move from the Lord of Avernus had put him flat on his back and he fully intended to stay there.

When it was clear he wouldn't get up anytime soon, Abaddon sheathed his sword and left him where he was. He came back with a bucket full of water, which he placed next to the obviously defeated Yurnero before he left again. The Juggernaut tried to growl at the male but was too weak and feared it would sound more like a whimper than a growl. So he refrained from doing so and just kept lying on the ground.

It was half an hour later before he could move enough to drink half of the water and pour the other half over his head. Fuck, he was finished for today. He dragged himself up to wash the sweat and dirt away and then half staggered half walked into the tent. It smelled delicious and he smiled. It seemed Abaddon had cooked.

Yurnero dropped his blade in the living room and entered the kitchen area. It wasn't designed to hold more than one creature and his body almost brushed Abaddon's as the male rummaged through a cupboard. "Thank you for making dinner."

Having found what he had been looking for, Abaddon pressed two plates into Yurnero's hands. He wasn't much shorter than the Juggernaut, just a tiny bit. Not many races that were as tall as an orc or had individuals that could grow as tall as an orc. Still Abaddon had to tip his head back to look up at Yurnero and he thought for a second that he saw a face in the shadows underneath the hood. But not enough to be able to tell anything about it.

The Lord stood very close, his eyes glowing softly while they were fixed on Yurnero. They stood way too long in front of each other to merely exchange the plates from one hand to the other. It was the Lord of Avernus who stepped back and turned around, breaking the contact between them. Yurnero grinned as he set the table.

Strange creature that the Lord of Avernus was, he did like to be around the Juggernaut. He couldn't deny it and it pleased Yurnero immensely.

They ate, who would've guessed, in silence. The food tasted as good as it smelled though it was nothing Yurnero would have ever made. Of course the ingredients were the same since Abaddon had used what had been available, but he had combined them differently. Had created something new out of them.

When he had finished, Abaddon stared at his plate. Something was bothering him, Yurnero suspected. Or at least occupied his thoughts. He didn't pry, just cleared the table, with which the Lord helped immediately. Having finished that, Yurnero stepped back into his living room but Abaddon stopped in the door from the kitchen as if unsure what would come next.

If it had been Alleria or Rylai, the Juggernaut would've settle on his couch with them and talked until they were tired. Not an option now. When he was alone he often sharpened his blade, which sounded fine to do now, too. It was something they could kind of do together without staring at nothing in silence. That could get awkward soon. But to check weapons and armour? Perfect.

The next moment of insecurity was when Yurnero said he'd go to sleep. He wanted to give Abaddon his bed again, but the male said 'no'.

"The only other place to sleep is here, on the rug." And he could see immediately how the Lord of Avernus tensed at that. Was it the rug? Probably more how open the place was, almost next to the door and without any cover from sight. Sooner or later Abaddon would want to take his clothes off, he had been in them the whole day, and here, in the middle of Yurnero's living room, it wasn't possible to do so without the chance that the orc would see him. "Abaddon, don't be stupid, just take the bed. I promise I won't enter the room, under no circumstances. You'll be completely undisturbed. I don't mind sleeping on the floor of my living room. It's still more comfortable than many other places I've slept in." He smiled at the Lord and pointed with his chin in the direction of the bedroom. "Go. I wish you a good night." He didn't wait to see if the male would leave but began to take his remaining clothes off. It wasn't much, but he really preferred to sleep naked. Or in armour. Anything in-between was illogical. Either he was safe enough not to need any clothes or he wasn't, which then meant armour.

Yurnero didn't care if he was seen naked. He never did. It was way more important for him to hide his face than his body. And besides, maybe Abaddon liked what he saw. Though Yurnero wasn't sure how long the male had remained standing in the doorway. Maybe he'd seen nothing. Maybe he'd seen all. Maybe he'd seen enough. And maybe he wasn't into males. He hadn't said anything regarding that matter, not about Yurnero's preference for males and definitely not about his own preferences.

After two days with the same pattern (the Lord of Avernus woke up earlier than the first day but that only meant more training), Yurnero felt like he was back to his usual strength and stamina. He was very pleased as he was able to give Abaddon a proper fight, even without his mask on. They were definitely equals now. And the orc loved it. He didn't have to hold back because Abaddon was strong enough to take everything he dealt without going down. It was amazing.

Their blades crashed loudly and they stared at each other, Abaddon's eyes shining bright in the darkness underneath his hood, Yurnero's flashing as he grinned, showing his sharp teeth. A grin of an orc was a sight to behold and there had been more than one creature who'd been afraid when confronted with such a sight. Of course not the Lord of Avernus. He didn't budge, didn't flinch, simply held his position.

Yurnero laughed shortly and carefully stepped back. "I think I'm finished with training for today. This was an awesome fight. Do you want to go hunting?" There were tasty creatures in the steppes and the both of them had almost drained all of Yurnero's supplies of meat by now.

"I think maybe I should go back home."

That answer, completely out of context, confused Yurnero. "What!? Why?" His grin had transformed into a frown in a split second.

"I think it would be better." When the Juggernaut only stared at him, not knowing what to say other than to ask 'why' again, Abaddon sighed. "I enjoy the time with you but it's, I don't know… I feel like… like I'll grow too attached to you. I can't explain it any other way, this… _closeness_ , it makes me uncomfortable. I… I need some distance."

There was a lot about that sentence that Yurnero was more than happy to hear, except that the Lord portrayed it all as something bad. "Why is that a problem? We are friends, I enjoy the time with you, too, and I like you. I don't want any distance."

Another sigh as Abaddon sheathed his sword and without an audible command Ruin came walking around the tent and stopped next to the Lord.

"No, please don't leave me!" Illogical fear gripped the Juggernaut and he reached out to grab Abaddon's arm. He had been miserable the last time they had been separated and this time would only be worse. Because he had grown to like Abaddon even more by now. And he was sure being without him, not knowing for how long, would hurt as fuck. This was all too sudden, giving Yurnero no time at all to adjust.

"I'll come back, I promise." Carefully he pried Yurnero's fingers from his arm. "A few days. To sort everything out." And because he couldn't do anything about it anyway, the Juggernaut let the Lord of Avernus go. He watched him ride away before he grabbed his blade and went on the hunt. He was angry, really angry, and he desperately wanted to kill something.

The way Abaddon had left, it felt like he was running away. And it made Yurnero furious. He felt rejected, again, and after how well everything had been between them it seemed not right. Why would he need distance? It didn't make any sense! And why so suddenly? The orc growled and snarled as he killed one creature after the other, not even all of them edible, leaving a wide trail of blood in his wake. He didn't care. He was frustrated, especially since this had been so suddenly. Everything had been fine and Abaddon had decided, just then, to leave?

Yurnero snarled at a huge raptor before he leapt at it, severing its head with one powerful swing of his blade.

Had the Lord been thinking about it all day long? Or had it been on a whim? Didn't really matter, if the Lord of Avernus decided on something, he'd see it through. As soon as he had decided on leaving, because he needed distance or whatever, he wouldn't be stopped. Didn't matter if it had been the decision of a minute or a day.

Covered in blood from head to toes the Juggernaut roared at no one and nothing, the sound full of anger and pain. The creatures all around him fled, knowing quite well that they'd all die to the blade of the orc otherwise. Dirty and tired and with nothing left to kill, Yurnero dragged himself back home. To an empty tent.


	8. Chapter 7

When days turned into weeks without even a word from the Lord of Avernus, Yurnero's fury only grew. And, for the first time in ages, he joined a real battle again. He might be an orc but he had refrained from aligning himself with any tribe. He refrained from doing so now by choosing one of the few eternal battles in the world that weren't bound to races but to something else. In this case, the leaking of pure despair out of the earth and morphing into shadowy figures that brought only misery had many creatures from all races fighting together to keep despair from invading the world.

Every helping hand was welcome.

The Juggernaut fought, slept when he was too tired to raise his arms anymore, then continued fighting. He wanted to keep his mind occupied, to get his thoughts to focus on something, anything, besides the Lord of Avernus. He lost track of time and of the world around him. It was fight, or die. And all around him were the creatures that consisted of despair, spreading their poison into the ground and into the ones that fought them. It was hard to block off all the misery they made one feel.

Sometimes he thought of simply not blocking an attack of one of the creatures and let it kill him. But he always came to his senses in time, at least until now. Here, in the real world, when he died he'd stay dead. No resurrecting like in the town wars. But he found he didn't really care about that.

He didn't know how much time passed, it was all a blur, fighting, sleeping and fighting again.

One morning he was woken by a cool hand on his shoulder. "Yurnero?" It was Rylai, the Crystal Maiden, who looked down at him with concern in her eyes. "I think you have fought enough. Come." She took his hand and pulled him with her. Not that she'd ever be strong enough to force him to do anything he didn't want, but the Juggernaut suspected there were not many creatures who'd ever not want to do what Rylai asked them to. And his mind was still fuzzy, not comprehending what was happening. He had only been asleep for a few minutes and he was still exhausted. So following Rylai was an automatic action, the pull of her slim, soft hand irresistible.

They walked, away from the battle field, into a forest with huge trees and lots of butterflies. It was peaceful here, nothing hinted at the despair that leaked out of the earth only a few minutes on foot away.

"What do you think you are doing here?" The Maiden put her hands in her hips and stared at the Juggernaut. She didn't look angry, more concerned. "You are really making it a habit of yours to worry your friends. Not that it was that hard to find you out here but Alleria is sitting in my ice castle and I heard the Lord of Avernus is roaming the _world_ , trying to find you. Last I heard is he killed some orcs because they were trying to make fun of him. Rather rash for the man. Now come. You need a bath." She eyed him up. "And something to eat. And then you really should go and tell the Lord of Avernus that you are fine." She held her hand out for Yurnero to take and he immediately reached out for her. He was relieved that she had come to get him away from here because he wouldn't have left on his own anytime soon. And he wasn't sure how much longer he would've been able to keep fighting and not just succumb to hopelessness.

Rylai ported them both directly into her ice castle.

Alleria immediately flung herself at him and Yurnero returned her hug, enjoying the smell of wind in her hair after all this time he had been surrounded by the stink of battle and death. He felt the first flare of a bad conscious about having worried her so much that she had gone to Rylai to get her help to find him. But he was so numb that he didn't care much about it at the moment. He just enjoyed the warmth here, the light, and the happiness that almost radiated from his two friends at having him around.

"Are you okay?" Alleria asked. He wasn't so sure but he nodded anyway. His mind was working too slowly, as if he was still half asleep. But his body felt okay and the rest was probably just the remains of the fighting. "Good." She pushed him away and grimaced as she looked down his body. "Get a bath, you are filthy as fuck. I'll visit you in a few weeks at your home. I expect to find you there." Then she turned towards Rylai. "Thank you for finding him."

"No problem, it was a pleasure to help you." The Maiden smiled brightly and batted her lashes a little.

Laughing, Alleria ported away.

And Rylai began fussing over Yurnero. Bath, clean clothes, food, drink, a bed. Afterwards he felt blessedly refreshed. Even his mind was working the way it should again.

"Good. I know where the Lord of Avernus is at the moment. I'll give you one of my flying mounts and I expect you to go to him and apologize."

The Juggernaut frowned. He was sure that the last time he had seen Abaddon the Lord had left _him_. Yurnero had waited for weeks at home before he had gone to this war. Why did he have to apologize? He'd done nothing wrong. It was only fair that the Lord of Avernus had to search for him after he had left him waiting like that, without any message or such. But he didn't really want to contradict the Crystal Maiden. So he nodded and mounted the same flying dragon he had gotten the last time.

During the flight he thought about what he wanted to say. He didn't want to apologize. He had absolutely no reason to. But he had to say something. He could surely say it was Rylai, that she had sent him and leave it at that. He could wait for the Lord of Avernus to speak, he had been the one to leave and he had been searching for the Juggernaut. He could say something about that.

Yurnero growled because he was sure the Lord wouldn't talk first. With how much he usually spoke, he'd maybe get out a 'hello' or something. And why should he even go to the Lord?

But the dragon he was riding on belonged to Rylai and it didn't listen to anything the Juggernaut wanted. He was stuck on its back and had to go wherever it took him.

The Dragon landed in a desert. At first Yurnero thought he was completely alone but then a rider on a horse appeared on one of the dunes. The orc immediately recognized him and his heart (damn the stupid thing) jumped in his chest. The rider stopped as he saw the orc and the Juggernaut dismounted. His feet had just hit the ground when the Lord of Avernus gave his horse the spurs and the creature stumbled and slithered down the dune. It had barely stopped in front of Yurnero when Abaddon jumped from its back. He made two big steps and forcefully hugged the surprised Juggernaut.

"Yurnero." Abaddon's deep voice vibrated through Yurnero's body and made him shudder. It pulled him out of his stunned surprise and he hugged the Lord back. They clung to each other like that until the dragon spread its wings and took off, whirling the sand around them into a tiny storm.

Abaddon released him and Yurnero wanted to step back but the male still had one hand around his arm. With the other he tapped onto the side of the Juggernaut's mask. "Off."

A second shudder raced through his body at this command. He took the mask off. He would've liked to look Abaddon in the face, too, but it seemed that wouldn't happen today. He stood like that in front of Abaddon, who still had a good grip on his arm. His irritation at having to seek out Abaddon and at having been told to apologize for something he didn't want to apologize for was gone. The Lord had clearly been worried, considering the way he had rushed to Yurnero and had hugged him. Damn, he had hugged him!

"You look tired. Where have you been? I couldn't find you anywhere."

"I fought in one of the eternal wars. The one against despair."

The reaction to this statement was a hiss. And Abaddon raised his free hand to touch Yurnero's cheek. The Juggernaut almost stopped breathing and he was sure his eyes were round and showed all the astonishment he was feeling right now about the fact that the Lord of Avernus was touching him. With another hiss he released the orc but only to impatiently pull his gloves from his hands. Human hands, Yurnero registered before they touched him, framed his face. One hand glided over his head, through his hair, down to his nape. The other lay on the orc's cheek while the thumb stroked over the dark shadows that probably circled his eyes from too much fighting and too little sleep the previous weeks. The black mist that always surrounded Abaddon moved over his skin but Yurnero didn't feel it as the human touched him.

The Juggernaut didn't dare move in fear this was some strange dream that would end every moment. Abaddon was touching him. And it didn't feel like the touch of a friend. It felt like so much more but he didn't dare hope. Didn't dare interpret anything into it. Didn't dare do anything at all except stand still as a statue. And enjoy the soft human hands on his skin. It didn't matter that Abaddon was a warrior with warrior hands. Human skin was naturally so much softer than orcen skin that even callused hands felt soft. He growled a little, he couldn't help it, it was too good, and silently cursed himself as the hands stopped petting him. But then Abaddon hugged him again, his hands now on Yurnero's back, on his naked skin there, and it was even better.

This time when Abaddon released him, he brought some distance between them, too. And put his gloves back on.

"You said you'd be gone _a_ _few_ _days_." Yurnero cringed at how accusing the words were even to his ears. Not at all what he had wanted to say when they met.

"I know. I'm _sorry_. When I arrived at home there was some family matter I had to take care of. I tried to get over with it quickly to get back to you, but it wasn't possible. It wasn't my intention to let you wait this long."

"You could've written." There was still a hint of accusation in Yurnero's tone and he cursed himself. Growled a little. Then, when he realized it probably appeared as if he had growled at Abaddon for not writing, grimaced.

"Oh."

"You didn't think of that?" Now the orc was amused. And glad Abaddon was used to his growling and didn't react to it, never felt threatened or offended by it.

The Lord had said that he wasn't good with social interactions, but not to think about writing when one was later than intended? Yurnero shook his head. But Abaddon had apologized, had said he had intended to be back earlier. _Had said he had wanted to be back_. "I need to get home and sleep for a few days. You want to accompany me?"

"Of course. I have been searching for you to spend more time with you after all."

"Then I suggest we start walking. Do you know where the nearest town is? To get a flight master?"

The Lord of Avernus mounted his horse and led the way.

"What about your need for distance from me?" How much he wished to see Abaddon's face when he answered that question.

"I… It's all complicated. This, our friendship, it is through myself connected to my family and some family issues and I'm not sure that is good. I thought about it, tried to look at it from different angles. In the end I don't think it'll matter. I mean, related to these family matters. It won't affect them. So distance between us isn't longer needed. I just had to handle some of these family matters before I could leave home."

His horse snorted but Yurnero thought Abaddon had sighed. "I'm still not sure how I, myself, feel about our friendship. About how close we are growing. But I miss you when you are not around and I can as well figure it all out while we are together, I guess."

Yurnero was a bit curious about what family matters the Lord of Avernus had that involved the Juggernaut as his friend. But the way Abaddon had answered made it clear that he didn't really want to tell any more about it. He had been evasive enough on that regard. And it wasn't important now. Not when he said it didn't have any effect on their friendship. _He had called Yurnero his friend_. The orc smiled. And the other thing… it was nice to hear that Abaddon missed him, too, when they were not together. He didn't understand why the man was uncomfortable getting too close as friends. It was strange and the orc definitely intended to ask a few questions about that. Later.

"So, you're human." It was more a statement than a question from Yurnero.

"That was never a secret. Is it a problem?" It mirrored what the orc had said to the Lord as he had removed his mask for the first time.

"No, of course it isn't." He looked at Abaddon. "You are tall for a human. And strong." He grinned. "I love how soft human skin is. Amazing."

The horse snorted as Abaddon laughed. "I bet you do, orc."

If it was possible, Yurnero's grin got wider. Abaddon was talking to him, had touched him, and now he teased him. His day couldn't possibly get any better.

On the following days Yurnero slept much and ate even more. They drained all of his supplies and then Abaddon went somewhere to buy stuff while the Juggernaut was sleeping. The Lord cooked every meal without comment. Yurnero hadn't been the best of cooks and was often too lazy to cook at all so he was delighted at this. On the fourth day they went hunting. Abaddon on his horse, Yurnero on foot.

They were as good together as they had been during the town wars. It was almost too easy to circle their prey and kill it. Yurnero was sure he had never been so very _not_ bloody after hunting during all his life.

They simply roasted some of the meat and sat around the fire late into the night. They still didn't talk much. It was more a sitting together and doing other stuff side by side. Yurnero mostly tended his blade while Abaddon had brought a book he was now reading.

"Do you plan to stay long?" the Juggernaut didn't look up from his blade. A thought had struck him while he checked the blade one last time before putting it away. "Because if so, I'd built me a second bed. I don't mind sleeping on the floor but a bed is definitely more comfortable." He frowned. "That means, if it doesn't seem too weird for you, living kind of together with me." He still hadn't figured out what made the Lord of Avernus feel uncomfortable in their friendship. He had asked some questions regarding the topic, but had gotten no answers. Just like now, when Abaddon simply ignored that part of Yurnero's question.

"I'd like to stay longer." The words were spoken carefully as if he wasn't sure how Yurnero would react to them.

So the Juggernaut faced the Lord of Avernus. "I'd like you to stay, too."

A nod. So that was settled. Perfect.

Getting supplies to build a bed wasn't as easy as it sounded since there was no wood in the steppes Yurnero lived in. They actually had to travel to a town more than a day's journey away. At least there they were able to buy everything so they didn't have to get to a second town.

 _Building_ the bed was easy. Though it was strange that Abaddon helped. It felt strange. As if it was too personal, at least with the way Yurnero felt about him. If it had been Alleria or Rylai he wouldn't have minded. Not that he minded with Abaddon but it made his heart flutter a little. Since he didn't want to tell him 'his heart was fluttering because he helped him build his bed' (sounded way too kitschy) he'd have to deal with it.

The following weeks passed without anything special happening. Yurnero started to tend his garden again and he and Abaddon continued the training fights, just for fun and because they had time for it.

The orc tried to figure out what was bothering Abaddon about their friendship. Sometimes the Lord was awfully aloof. Then he sat extra far away from Yurnero and touched him as little as possible, as if he needed physical distance between them. Sometimes it was the opposite, then the Lord stared at Yurnero a lot, sat closer than usual and brushed against him 'accidentally'. It was as if some things triggered the human and then he'd be uncomfortable but the Juggernaut couldn't to save his life identify what those things were. The aloof days grew less and less but Yurnero couldn't stop wondering why they had been there to begin with. Maybe he did something wrong? Maybe it was his fault Abaddon sometimes felt uncomfortable about their closeness. If he knew what it was, he could change it. But the Lord never said anything, no matter how much the orc asked or how he phrased the question. Well, maybe it really was something the human had to figure out by himself and though he never stopped wondering, Yurnero eventually stopped asking.

Then, one morning, it happened. Everything had been great, Yurnero had been relaxed and happy, and living with Abaddon had been cosy. Almost domestic. And he was sure the Lord felt the same. So, on this morning, Abaddon had been absentminded for some reason. Maybe he had been thinking about making breakfast. Or about the fact that Yurnero slept naked in the living room and would get up while he worked in the kitchen, still being naked (wishful thinking from the orc here). Or he had thought about something completely different. Yurnero couldn't now.

No matter what it had been, on this morning Abaddon forgot to put his hood on. About one week after they had built Yurnero's bed he had stopped wearing his armour and some of his clothes, like gloves and cape, around the house. He had kept his hood on, though, and his long sleeved shirt he needed underneath his armour. The black mist, that had been there even with the clothes on, was more evident on the naked skin. It was always in motion, swirling and gliding.

Just as he did every morning, the Lord of Avernus walked into the kitchen, pointedly ignoring the Juggernaut in his bed. While he'd make breakfast, Yurnero would put clothes on and then join Abaddon to set the table. Only on this morning he froze in the doorway. Maybe he should've turned away or something but he was too shocked by the sight of Abaddon without his hood. The human still had his back to the orc but when he turned around and saw Yurnero's expression he stopped. Frowned. And then his eyes widened. "Oh shit." The words were only whispered but in the silence they were loud.

Yurnero didn't know what to do, how to react. Should he say something? Should he just go away? Should he act as if nothing was different? Well, he supposed it was way too late for the latter. He wanted to make a joke or something, to ease some tension from the situation, but he couldn't think of anything. He could only stare and he supposed he looked rather stupid while doing so. He couldn't help himself, the human was _gorgeous_!

His skin was pale, though it probably appeared paler than it actually was because the black mist swirled over it constantly. Not only his hands, his face, too. Everywhere. It was always there but it was more evident on Abaddon's face. His dark hair was just long enough to hang into his eyes, which weren't glowing as much as when he had his hood on. They were almost normal now, though still too bright. His features were perfect. His mouth, his nose, his jaw: he was beautiful.

Abaddon clearly got nervous the longer Yurnero stared. So he opened his mouth to say something, though he really didn't know _what_ he wanted to say. "Un-fucking-believable." Okay, that was clearly not the most sophisticated remark. And clearly nothing to take the tension out of Abaddon's shoulders. In fact, the human took a step back, his hands reaching behind him to grab the edge of the counter. Yurnero growled and Abaddon's eyes widened even more. He looked afraid all of a sudden, though it was absolutely irrational. Why should he be afraid when he never had been before? Why should anything change when he didn't wear his hood? But to frighten him wasn't what Yurnero wanted to do. He stepped back, away from the kitchen. "Sorry." He mumbled. He sat down on his bed and tried not to stare at the door. He focused on his fingers as he laced them over his knees and waited.

The Lord of Avernus walked out of the kitchen a few minutes later. He turned to the sleeping room where his hood would be lying. He hesitated. Sighed. "I suppose there is no use in putting the hood back on, now is there?"

Yurnero looked up from his hands. He could clearly see how nervous and insecure Abaddon was, and he smiled. To reassure a human, the orc smiled. Great. But since Abaddon had never minded his smile before he supposed it was good enough. "Probably not. But if it makes you feel better, I don't care if you wear it or not. I was just... it caught me flat-footed this morning. To tell the truth, I didn't expect you to be so gorgeous." Now he grinned. "It kind of mushed my brain, I think." Oh damn, he thought, now the Lord of Avernus _blushed_. "Okay, I take back what I just said. You should put the hood on. Or I'll probably not be able to stop staring at you the whole time."

He thought Abaddon wanted to say something but then the human smiled (which took Yurnero's _breath_ away) and disappeared into the room he was sleeping in.

But it was no use. Every time Yurnero looked at Abaddon this day he saw his face in his mid, how he had blushed and smiled. He wanted to see him again, he wanted to touch him, _to kiss him_. Up to this moment, there had still been a gap between them. Wearing the hood had provided some distance and it had kept Yurnero's infatuation with the male at that: infatuation. Now it had become more. In the few moments it had taken the Lord to put the hood back on he just might have fallen head over heels and madly in love with him. He didn't know how to act around him. He wanted to touch him so badly but he was afraid Abaddon wouldn't welcome it. His heart kept fluttering whenever the Lord was near and in their training fight he was bad, really _really_ bad. His mind kept drifting and he almost got his arm cut off because he didn't parry fast enough. Lucky for him, the Lord of Avernus was concentrated as ever and it was only the flat side of his sword that hit the Juggernaut. It hurt enough, though.

After that, Yurnero growled and almost tossed his blade on the ground in anger. Anger at himself, because this was fucking stupid. He snarled at Abaddon and stomped out of the training area. He could hear the human sigh behind him before he flung himself down next to the tent, one arm over his eyes. Great, fucking great.

At least Abaddon gave him _some_ time alone before he sat down next to him. "I'm sorry."

The words only made Yurnero snarl again and glare at Abaddon. "You know that you didn't do anything wrong. Go away."

He didn't go away, instead he lay down, too, his arms behind his head as he looked into the blue sky. "You want to talk about it?"

"Fuck no." He didn't. Damn, he didn't. But the Lord of Avernus was patient.

After a while, Yurnero had calmed down. And his heart was fluttering again. He groaned and shut his eyes tightly. This was all a nightmare. And the same way he had wished that Abaddon would take his hood off so he could finally see the man hiding underneath it, the same way he was wishing now that he had never forgotten the damn thing. It made everything more complicated. And he hated it. Of course it was bad to be infatuated with a good friend but he had been coping so well. Now he was completely off balance.

"I've fallen in love with you." He blurted the words out and then he thought he was going to be sick. Yurnero clenched his teeth and forced himself to breathe slowly and evenly. No matter how Abaddon would react now, the words were out. His stomach might do flip-flops but his heart was indeed lighter.

It took Abaddon so long to answer. What he said was something Yurnero would never have expected. "Because I'm gorgeous?"

The Juggernaut frowned and turned his head to look at the Lord. He was still staring at the sky (the orc didn't really know if he was staring or had his eyes closed, because of the hood) but he must have seen that the Juggernaut had moved and he turned his head, too. They were now looking at each other and they were too close. Damn heart and its insistent fluttering.

"No, it's not because you are gorgeous." He grinned a little, his mood lighter with Abaddon not insulting him or laughing at him after his confession. Instead, the human seemed to take it seriously, thinking about it and all. "At least not only. Can't hurt to like someone who looks awesome." When he got no reaction from the human he scrunched his nose, and continued more sincerely. "No, it's not. It only made it, I don't know, more real or something." He wanted to close his eyes, he wasn't that comfortable talking about his feelings like that. But Abaddon's gaze held his, his eyes glowing ever so softly. He couldn't look away. And felt compelled to answer the question in its entirety. "I think I began to love you when fighting side by side with you was so absolutely awesome. When we trained together. When you came to me and told me you had missed me. When you were always calm and focused, no matter what went on around you. When you searched for me. When you told me you were nervous around me and stayed with me nonetheless. When you trusted me to take care of you after the last town war." He took a deep breath. "I suppose there are many more things but I think I got my point through."

Still Abaddon didn't react. Maybe he was searching Yurnero's features for the truth behind his words. Then he sighed and turned his head away. "You truly do, don't you? Stupid orc." His voice was soft as he said those words. Was he even smiling?

Suddenly Yurnero grinned. He was fine, much more so than before. Abaddon's reaction was better than many of the things he had pictured him doing or saying. He hadn't made fun of the Juggernaut or had waved his feeling away. Yes, he hadn't said he felt the same way but the orc had never expected that. Maybe he had hoped for it, but since Abaddon had never indicated that he might feel anything beyond friendship, and even with simple friendship the human was sometimes uncomfortable, he hadn't truly expected it.

"Do you want to continue the training? Maybe you'll be an actual challenge now that you have that from your mind." The Lord of Avernus stood up and held his hand out to help the Juggernaut up. The orc was totally up for another fight.

This time he won against Abaddon. He grinned at the man. "Challenge enough?" Abaddon laughed and Yurnero wished he could see his face.

Nothing changed during the next days. The flutter in Yurnero's heart was still there but it was quieter. It didn't make him all jittery anymore. He smiled often at the Lord and he thought he could hear in his voice how he smiled back when he said something. And it was fine. It was enough.

He dreamed about Abaddon a few times and how could he not? The human was too gorgeous to be true. And at least in his dreams he could touch him and kiss him. And so much more. When he had a sex dream about the human for the first time, he lay in his bed the next morning while Abaddon was already rummaging in the kitchen and didn't know how to proceed. He was hard and wanted to jack off but couldn't do so with the Lord right there. He tried to get his hard one to go away so he could get out of bed but of course it didn't. He peered to the kitchen. Abaddon was occupied enough so Yurnero silently got up and went outside. He didn't go far before he took himself in his hand.

He should've been relaxed afterwards but he was strangely tense. Because this was something that brought only trouble. Sexual attraction. Until now he had been able to avoid it, to avoid thinking that way about Abaddon, though it had been difficult. But he couldn't change his dreams and he was helpless against them. And now he had these pictures in his mind, from his dream. Yurnero groaned and desperately wanted to punch something.

He didn't know if Abaddon had heard him or had just found his bed empty. But he stepped out of the tent then. Before he could ask anything, if he even intended to, the Juggernaut said: "It's okay, I'm fine. I think… Just... it was just some dream." He scrunched his nose. "I'm fine."

When the Lord didn't answer, he sighed and walked past him into the tent to get dressed. The day was shit and it had just begun. And when he realized after breakfast that he had forgotten that Alleria had promised to visit he didn't know if he should be glad or even more irritated. Maybe glad, because that way he could get his mind off the human male. It would be good for him. On the other hand, Alleria would pester him with questions of which he was sure he didn't want to answer all. And it got even worse, because she was accompanied by her two boyfriends.


	9. Chapter 8

The Juggernaut had been walking around without his mask for the last weeks but he immediately put it on when he heard other voices beside Alleria's in front of his home. It was an automatic act, born out of year-long drill and training.

Before Alleria could knock, Yurnero stepped out of the tent. The three, Alleria with her two boyfriends, had arrived with two raptors, the Bounty Hunter probably having ridden with one of the two humans. Since he could go invisible, he wouldn't want someone to know where he was through there being a third, seemingly riderless, raptor.

The female smiled widely and hugged him and even the Dragon Knight shook his hand while he held his helmet in the other. The Bounty Hunter remained invisible until Alleria rolled her eyes. "Gondar, come on, you can check the surroundings after you said hallo." He appeared in front of the Juggernaut and held his hand out, too. "Hey," he mumbled. "Nice to meet you again."

Yurnero could hear how he didn't think it was nice at all but was polite enough to say it anyway. "Thanks. Nice to meet _you_ again. You still sticking with these two? Not that I have anything against Alleria, but the Dragon Knight? Really?" At the Hunter's irritated look he laughed. "It was a joke." The creature clearly didn't get his jokes at all.

He turned towards Alleria, the only one of the three he cared about but he saw how the eyes of the Bounty Hunter narrowed. It seemed he didn't appreciate his jokes at all. Not his problem.

Simply to anger the Dragon Knight, Yurnero took Alleria's hand. "Come inside. You want something to drink?" He ignored the other two though he'd bring them something as well. He was civil, after all. They could come in, too, but the Bounty Hunter would probably not want to. And the Dragon Knight was surely glad if he didn't have to look at the Juggernaut the whole time. And didn't have to watch him and Alleria talking.

The Lord of Avernus came out of the room he was sleeping in, fully clothed, including cloves and cape. "Lord of Avernus! Well, hello," Alleria chirped. Abaddon looked at her but didn't react otherwise before he left the tent. Yurnero could hear the Dragon Knight greeting the Lord, too, but he got no response, either. The Bounty Hunter was probably already invisible and scouting the steppes around the Juggernaut's home.

"So, you two sit next to each other the whole day in silence. I can totally see how much fun you have." Her tone was dry and Yurnero laughed.

"Almost. We don't always sit around, though."

Alleria's eyes widened. Had his tone been suggestive, hinting at something sexual? Yurnero frowned. He hadn't wanted that, she shouldn't think there was something going on between them. Because there wasn't. "I meant that we train and hunt together."

Her eyes widened even more, her lips twitching. "I didn't assume anything else."

Damn. His voice had sounded too defensive and she had heard it. Now she knew there was something. Even if there was nothing actually going on she knew that something bothered him and that it had to do with the Lord.

Double damn.

"You got a second bed?" She nodded at the one that stood in the living room.

"He's been staying here for quite a while. It was only reasonable."

She cast him a look from the side before sitting down in one of the arm chairs. "I'd like some water please. My boys, too."

When he finally sat down in the other armchair, she scooted closer and took his hand. "Are you alright? You seem to be awfully tense. Did something happen?"

"It's okay. How are you?" Her gaze said she didn't believe him one bit and wasn't in the least satisfied with his short answer. She let it slide for the moment but she'd probably come back to her question later. First she told him about herself and her two boyfriends. They seemed to be doing great and Alleria laughed a lot as she talked about this and that, what they did together, where they went and stuff. She was clearly happy. Yurnero smiled and listened and slowly relaxed. Until she focused on him again. "So, back to my first question: what is going on with you and the Lord of Avernus?"

He had known that he'd have to tell her. He growled softly. "It's fine, we are fine." But since she'd never let it drop just like that, her gaze too intent and focused, her eyes telling him she'd keep asking until he caved in, he continued with a sigh: "It's just, I had this dream last night and I can't stop thinking about it and it drives me crazy!"

Alleria didn't ask what kind of dream, he was sure she knew it. Yurnero slowed down and began talking about what had happened since they'd last seen each other. Once he had started, it was easy to tell her everything. How he'd found Abaddon in the desert where he had been searching for the Juggernaut. How they'd gone back to his home and he had stayed since then. How they spent their days and how nice it was. Then he told her how Abaddon had forgotten his hood one morning and how it had made Yurnero realize that he really loved the human. That he had told Abaddon that he loved him and how that conversation had gone. How everything had been fine afterwards until this damn morning. When he had woken up with a hard one and only had had pictures of Abaddon in his head.

"Crazy, I'll go crazy here. I was perfectly fine, it was okay that Abaddon didn't say he loved me. I never expected him to anyway, it was fine. But this, this'll drive me insane. I'll probably get turned on when we train the next time." He groaned and buried his face in his hands, suddenly annoyed that he was wearing his mask but not wanting to take it off in case one of Alleria's boyfriends barged in.

The female took his hands and pulled them away from his face. Then she sat down on his lap and cuddled closer against him, her body warm against his, giving as much comfort as she could. She stroked one hand up and down his back and one through his hair at the back of his head. Gratefully Yurnero buried his head in her shoulder and let her touch soothe him. "I'm sorry it is complicated like that." Her voice was soft as she spoke. "I really thought this, whatever is between you, that it would work out in the end. Rylai and I had a conversation about you and the Lord of Avernus, when we heard how he was searching for you. She said he never had a friend before and she also thought he's never been in a relationship, had never even had a sexual encounter as far as she'd heard. She doesn't even know if he is gay or not. She said maybe he is asexual or something like that. But she said he is nice, and unbelievably loyal when he chooses to be. And reliable." She kept stroking him. "Maybe you should ask him? Maybe you need him to say 'no' so you don't secretly hope?"

"I don't want him to say 'no'." The words were muffled against her skin.

"Of course you don't. But it doesn't seem as if he wants anything else from you than friendship. And since you want everything else, too, maybe a 'no' will help. Maybe it'll at least stop you from dreaming like that again. Because that seems to be a huge problem for you at the moment."

"I don't want your advice." It made him sad and left this empty feeling in his chest. Yurnero growled softly. It sounded all a little too hopeless for his taste. He had liked this teeny tiny bit of hope that was still there. Hope that, one day, since he hadn't said 'no', Abaddon might just love him back. If he asked him, this hope would be gone. He wasn't sure he wanted that.

"Okay. Want to cuddle some more?"

"Yes please." He tightened his arms around her body.

"Want me to talk some more?"

"Please."

So they stayed like that. Alleria comforting Yurnero as she petted him and talked about unimportant things. Told him stories about Rylai and some of the creatures he sometimes fought town wars with. Some schmooze and gossip.

Until the Dragon Knight entered. "Oh come on. You been doing that the last two hours? While we've been sitting outside on the hard and dirty ground in the unrelenting sun with no one caring about us?"

Yurnero could almost hear how Alleria rolled her eyes. "You can't imagine how much I pity you. Get back out, please. Take something to drink with you if you're thirsty."

"Can't we go home already?"

"Whiny." She sighed. "In an hour?"

"Perfect." With that he was gone again, without taking something to drink. Couldn't be that bad outside.

Briefly Yurnero wondered where Abaddon might be. He couldn't really see him sitting together with the Dragon Knight but he was sure the Lord would find something to occupy himself with.

"Anything else you want to talk about before I'm off again?"

"No, it's fine. And you don't have to make the two wait another hour. I'm okay." He loosened his hold on her, though he took one last deep breath. Wind and woods. He smiled. "Thanks for visiting." The female slipped from his lap and the orc stoop up, too. "I don't think I'll go anywhere the next weeks. You want to come again? You could visit without your two males and stay over-night?"

"Uh oh, you hitting on me?" Alleria looked at him with a fake-innocent face and batted her lashes.

It made the Juggernaut laugh. "Yeah, totally hitting on you. So what you say, honey," he leaned down and lowered his voice, "me, you, a fire, some fresh boar meat and a bottle of wine?" He wrapped a strand of her red hair around his finger and tugged her closer until they were chest to chest, their faces only inches apart.

The Dragon Knight chose exactly that moment to come in again. "I forgot the..." He stopped midsentence. "What do you think you are doing?"

Yurnero turned his head, not backing away from Alleria one bit, and wanted to say something to tease the Knight. Alleria was faster. She clamped one hand over his mouth (not that it had any effect on top of the mask) and laughed. "Don't. Whatever you want to say, please don't. He'll probably believe it and I'll be in even more trouble. You _do_ want me to visit again, don't you?"

With one last tug on the strand around his finger, he stepped away from her. "Sad. I'm sure me hitting on you worked perfectly fine."

The Dragon Knight growled, his eyes screaming murder. Yurnero laughed and Alleria rolled her eyes. "I think it's time for us to leave." She got serious in a split second. "Write me if you need anything. I'll be here as fast as I can. Don't run off like last time, please."

"I won't. I promise I'll at least leave a message or something." He hugged her one last time before he pushed her carefully towards the seething Dragon Knight. "Now go, before he attacks me in my own home."

He followed them outside and when they were mounted he held his hand out to the Knight. "Don't worry, I'd never steel your female."

The Dragon Knight almost smiled as they clasped hands. "I know. See you around."

Behind him the Bounty Hunter turned visible and also held his hand out. He didn't say anything.

In a cloud of dust they disappeared through the steppes, Alleria waving one last time. Yurnero looked after them, definitely glad that she had visited. It always helped to talk with her though she normally didn't give him any advice on stuff. He must've seemed extremely desperate for her to do so. He didn't think he'd do what she had suggested but before he really went insane it was probably a good solution.


	10. Chapter 9

A horse snorted behind Yurnero and he turned. The Lord of Avernus was covered in blood from head to toes, as was his mount but, after a quick concerned look up and down his body, otherwise seemed to be fine. Nonetheless the orc asked: "Are you all right? Are you hurt? What did you do?"

The Lord dismounted. "I'm fine. I encountered some raptor. The creature was unexpected strong." He patted his horse on the neck and took its saddle and stuff off. Then he went to clean it. Yurnero followed, frowning. "A raptor that was that difficult for you to defeat that you are this bloody? Where?" Such a creature could be a threat, if it was strong enough to give Abaddon such a fight. There was danger in it for weaker creatures walking the steppes. Because if there was one, there might be more.

"To the south. I can show you later."

"Yes, please." The Juggernaut watched how the Lord scrubbed some half dried blood off the saddle at the water barrel behind the tent. "Can I help you?" He was handed the saddle and Abaddon continued with his gloves, then his cape. The washed clothes were put over a nearby stack to dry.

The saddle was complicated to get clean. Yurnero was glad he didn't have a mount since it obviously meant even more equipment to take care off.

Abaddon took one piece after the other off to wash the blood away. First his armour. His boots. Then his long sleeved shirt. At that, Yurnero couldn't continue with what he was doing, he could only stare. He tried to pretend he didn't do so but when the Lord took his hood off, as if it was the most normal thing to do (when the Juggernaut knew that it _wasn't_ ), it was over. And when the human's pants followed, too, and he was standing there in simply some underpants, Yurnero was sure he was salivating.

"Stop staring, orc. One could think you've never seen a naked human male before." Abaddon didn't look up as he spoke in a low voice that made the Juggernaut shiver.

"Not one like you, no I haven't." He growled as the Lord bent forward a little, the muscles in his back shifting and the underpants tight over his arse. Damn, he'd dream about this in the night, he just _knew_ it. This going insane would go way faster than he'd anticipated.

Black mist moved around Abaddon's body but it didn't conceal anything. It was almost as if it caressed the pale skin of the human, swirling in a small circle at his lower back and merging with the dark hair on his head. Where Abaddon washed his clothes the mist lingered on the water like fog.

Yurnero was transfixed by it, how with every move of his muscles the mist moved, too, emphasising how strong the Lord was. How much power he wielded. It was a breath-taking display.

The Lord of Avernus ignored the Juggernaut until he had everything cleaned and hanging over the stack except the saddle, which was still in Yurnero's hands, forgotten. Abaddon took it and put it on the stack, too. His arms flexed as he lifted it and Yurnero growled again.

When Abaddon turned towards Yurnero, the orc tried to keep his eyes on his face but, damn it, he couldn't. He had to take every detail of the human in, especially now that he saw him from the front. His shoulders, his chest and then his stomach. Before his gaze could drift any lower than that, no matter how much he wanted to, his head jerked up again. And he found Abaddon smiling. The human had a feint blush on his cheeks but he didn't look unsure and definitely not insecure like the first time he had faced Yurnero without his hood.

The Juggernaut held his breath as the Lord raised his hand. But Abaddon only tapped lightly on the mask Yurnero still had over his face and the orc laughed breathlessly. He had completely forgotten that he was wearing it. Abaddon was clearly making him loose his mind and he didn't even _do_ anything. His fingers were clumsy as Yurnero took the mask off.

And before he could realize what was happening, Abaddon kissed him. He had one hand on the back of the orc's neck to pull Yurnero forward and the other on his shoulder to steady himself as he stood on tiptoes. It wasn't an aggressive kiss and it wasn't too fleeting, either. Abaddon's lips pressed softly against Yurnero's. He lingered a moment, just long enough for Yurnero to start to respond.

Then the Lord stepped back.

"What was that?" Yurnero's voice was hoarse and he was strangely breathless. _Breathless_! From some tiny kiss, just lips against lips. But his heart was racing and his body was frozen in place from the sensation of the human's hands on his body.

"Never been kissed before?" The blush was still on his cheeks as Abaddon raised his brows a bit, a smile curling around the corners of his lips. It drew Yurnero's gaze back to his mouth.

"Not by _you_." And damn how much he wanted to do it again. But he didn't know what the kiss meant. Did it mean he could kiss Abaddon back? Did it mean he could touch him? He knew he was staring again and he also knew that staring wouldn't get him any answers. "Kiss me again?"

The smiled got wider. The human was clearly pleased with his effect on Yurnero. "Maybe tomorrow." But Abaddon didn't move away, instead he hesitated. Then he stretched on tiptoes and leaned over again. His lips were unbelievably soft against the orc's as was his skin when Yurnero placed one hand on his naked lower back. He growled and Abaddon sighed. He sighed _in_ _pleasure_ as the orc growled. Yurnero thought he'd loose his mind. Orcs liked it when orcs growled but never humans. They were too fragile, too weak compared to orcs and they were usually frightened or at least it made them nervous.

Abaddon leaned against him, his hands on Yurnero's shoulders with their bodies almost touching. Almost. The Juggernaut thought he could feel the black mist on his skin, a whisper of a touch as it floated up and down his body the same way it did with the Lord's.

Their kiss was still only lips against lips. Abaddon wanted to pull back but Yurnero tightened his hold on his back, keeping the human easily in position. He didn't want the kiss to end, not yet. He wanted to deepen it but Abaddon was strong. And _he_ didn't want to deepen the kiss. Or keep kissing. He placed one hand (not even both) on Yurnero's chest and gave him a sharp push.

The Juggernaut staggered back a step and blinked at the shorter human in front of him. His eyes flared bright, no emotion visible on his features. And Yurnero was harder than he'd ever been. It was the whole situation, he thought. The half-naked Lord of Avernus, black mist curling around his body, the show of strength, how he wasn't afraid by Yurnero being an orc and then this flaring of his eyes. Gods almighty.

Yurnero's growl had Abaddon narrowing his eyes. "I said tomorrow."

His voice was deeper than usual. Yurnero shivered and his breath hitched when he thought he could feel the vibration of Abaddon's voice right down to his cock. He would've liked to say something witty, or something about the human having initiated the second kiss and not heeding his own words about tomorrow. But he was absolutely rendered speechless by a puny half naked human who had merely given him two short pecks on the lips.

"Behave." Then the Lord of Avernus stalked away, black mist swirling over naked skin.

The Juggernaut was lost. Mind and body and heart. And probably his soul, too, because he'd sell the useless thing for just one more kiss. He groaned and pressed his hands over his eyes. But the images were branded in his mind. Abaddon's eyes, his skin, his body, his mouth, his _voice_.

Everything.

The way he took the lead.

Tomorrow, he had said tomorrow.

The remaining day Yurnero was in some kind of haze. He couldn't concentrate and even _cut his finger on his blade when he sharpened the thing_. He stared at the blood welling up, not really comprehending what had happened until Abaddon pressed a clean cloth on the wound. Thankfully he had dressed again, had put a hood back over his head. He didn't say anything about the way the Juggernaut was off balance but the orc thought for a moment he could hear the Lord laughing softly as he sat back down.

The night was awful. Yurnero tossed and turned and when he fell asleep he dreamed about Abaddon. About kissing and touching him and when he woke he was rock-hard. He stood up and went outside to splash some cold water on his face. The night was clear and the stars sparkled, so he leaned against the water barrel and stared at the sky. What a day. It felt as if it had all been a dream, this kiss and everything. It was so unreal, after all this time.

The air was cool on his naked skin and slowly Yurnero's heartbeat slowed down. He took one last deep breath before he went back inside.

In the doorway to the room he was sleeping in stood Abaddon. He had probably woken up from Yurnero moving around. He was wearing only his underpants and the black mist made him appear extremely inhuman in the darkness. It covered his skin more than it did during daylight and he looked like some black spirit, his eyes glowing very white.

Yurnero had absolutely wanted to wait for Abaddon to make the next move, to give him time, to get into it slowly. But it was too much at this moment. With a growl he walked forwards, his purpose more than clear. He put one hand on the back of Abaddon's neck and pulled him close. He gave the human one second to push him away or say something and when he didn't, Yurnero kissed him. He deepened the kiss almost immediately, desperate to finally feel the human.

With the second hand he stroked down Abaddon's back before using it to hold his body in place while he closed the remaining gap between them. They touched, chest to chest, stomach to stomach, and, heaven help, cock against cock.

Abaddon slung both arms around Yurnero's neck without hesitation and pulled himself up and closer still and sighed into the kiss. Their tongues touched. Abaddon licked over Yurnero's lower lip, making the orc growl. In answer to the growl, the human pressed impossibly closer, inciting another growl as their bodies rubbed together, so much soft skin against the orc and under his hands. Yurnero felt frantic as he fumbled with Abaddon's underpants, wanting nothing more than to get the stupid thing out of the way. He wanted more, more and more. He couldn't think, was drowning in sensations.

Finally the last piece of cloth between them was gone and Yurnero grabbed Abaddon's arse. He pulled him flush against his body. The Lord was hard against his stomach, against him and Yurnero had to stop moving, had to stop kissing to get air into his lungs. He dropped his head on the human's shoulder, breathing heavily. Abaddon moved his now free mouth to the orcs neck and bit down just where the shoulder began.

Too much, it was all too much. Yurnero growled as his whole body jerked and he tried to hold back, as he tried to get a grip. But he was so hot, the human was so soft, their naked bodies pressed against each other and he had wanted this for too long and then there was the dream and he thought the mist grew thicker around them, cocooning them in a cloud of comfort. Obviously Abaddon took the growl as a sign that Yurnero had liked the biting and did it again, even harder this time. At the same moment he shifted, rubbing against Yurnero.

It was over and the Juggernaut couldn't do much instead of rolling with it and letting go. One shiver after the other raced down his back as the orgasm hit until he felt so weak he thought his legs would just give out and he'd fall down. Lucky for him, the Lord of Avernus was strong enough to hold him up and usher him backwards until he could sit down on his bed.

The human looked down, his eyes glowing, as the black mist swirled over his skin faster than usual. He was stunning, Yurnero thought, and he reached out to take him into his hand. Abaddon didn't move, he just stared, but with the first stroke of the Juggernaut's hand, he moaned quietly. The first sound he made since this had begun. Yurnero thought briefly about taking him into his mouth but he really wanted to look at Abaddon's face when he touched him for the first time and that was much easier this way.

Yurnero kept his hand moving, slow and steady, until Abaddon wrapped his own hand around the orc's. He didn't do anything, just moved with Yurnero as he sped up. It didn't take Abaddon long to come, too. He moaned breathlessly and just before he closed his eyes, Yurnero thought he saw astonishment on his features.

The human had the other hand on Yurnero's shoulder to steady himself. When his breathing was almost normal again, he left without a word but returned a few moments later with a wet cloth. He cleaned what mess they had made up, then put the cloth away.

When he returned, the Juggernaut was lying on the bed, smiling at the human. Yurnero should've been nervous and unsure how to proceed from here, unsure how the human might react, if it had been too fast, too much, if it would make him uncomfortable again, but he was tired and sated, his mind working too slowly for him to worry about what could happen next. He just scooted over a little and lifted the blanked.

Abaddon hesitated, but only for a split second, not even long enough to make the Juggernaut stop smiling. Then he bridged the two steps between him and the bed and slipped under the covers. He was tense but the orc ignored it as he snuggled close. He kissed Abaddon on the temple before he took a deep breath to savour the smell of him mixed with a hint of sex and then buried his nose in the soft human hair. "Goodnight." He murmured. He could just hear the answering 'goodnight' from the Lord of Avernus and feel him relax in his arms before he fell asleep.

When he woke up, he was alone in bed but he didn't worry when he could hear Abaddon moving through the tent. He kept dozing a little and smiled as he thought about last night. He did worry, though, when he heard the Lord of Avernus step outside and then saddle his horse.


	11. Chapter 10

\- okay, I'm still not completely satisfied with the coming chapters, but it won't get any better so I can as well put them out there. Prepare for a change in the story, if you'd rather not read about something that has absolutely nothing to do with dota anymore you should stop here. It's not gross or anything, just maybe strange. Anyway, enjoy. maybe you'll like the chapters more than I do -

* * *

"You are leaving?" Yurnero could barely hold back the 'me' at the end but it was hanging in the air loud enough. He frowned. He didn't want to sound needy or something. He was the Juggernaut. Who cared if the Lord of Avernus ran away the morning after they had fooled around? His frown deepened, because he couldn't even in his head make this sound believable. He cared way too much.

"A family matter. I have to." Abaddon mounted his horse. "It won't take long."

"A family matter? Did someone contact you? And what is not long? A week? Two?" Damn, he did sound needy. Maybe even bordering on desperate. He growled. At himself.

Abaddon stilled, looking down at Yurnero completely motionless. He was like the first time Yurnero had seen him. Some aloof creature he couldn't read, whom he knew nothing about. Except they were friends now. At least. That changed everything.

The Lord of Avernus pulled his hood from his face and dismounted. He stepped closer and cupped Yurnero's face. He was very close now, the black mist almost touching the Juggernaut. "I'll tell you about my family when I'm back. I don't know how long I'll be gone, maybe a few weeks." His features hardened. "You'll wait for me here. I don't want to go searching for you like last time."

The words made Yurnero's scowl deepen even more though Abaddon's voice made him shiver. Would that ever stop? "I'm an orc and you are only a human. You can't order me around like that."

With a half-smile Abaddon raised his brows. "Can't I?"

"No."

He pulled Yurnero down for a quick kiss, then he tapped one of his orc-tusks with a gloved finger. "Wait here for me."

Another kiss before he pulled his hood over his face, the black mist and the cloth concealing everything of the human male and his beautiful features. He gave Yurnero no time to answer as he mounted Ruin again and without any more delay they galloped away.

 _Wait here for me._ He'd wait. No matter how long it'd take.

The rest of the day the Juggernaut was miserable. But on the next day he wrote Alleria and Rylai letters and then he occupied himself with the usual stuff. Garden, armour, weapons, repairs and hunting. It wasn't the same without Abaddon but Yurnero had to keep himself busy with something and the things had to be done anyway.

On the next day, Rylai visited. Her girlfriend, Lanaya the Templar Assassin, was with her. They landed in a huge cloud of dust next to his tent. The dragon they had been riding took off after the Maiden patted it lightly on its flank.

Having Rylai around was great. She was always laughing and smiling and hugging Yurnero and talking. It was nice. The Templar Assassin was simply there. He'd say she was lurking around but she didn't really lurk. After about twenty minutes, where she had been standing next to the tent watching him and Rylai, she pulled a book out of a backpack and sat down to read. Yurnero completely forgot about her being there after that. The female didn't move for the longest time, the Juggernaut wasn't sure if she even breathed. She could've been a statue.

The Crystal Maiden mostly ignored her girlfriend but from time to time she'd look over and smile a little. She tried to help Yurnero with the garden but as good as she was with creatures she was bad with plants. She didn't even see the difference between a useful plant and weeds. After she had pulled out the wrong one, _again_ , Yurnero forced her to sit down on some log and stop helping. She didn't seem to have a problem with that. She kept talking while she watched the Juggernaut. Then she fetched him something to drink.

She got something for the Assassin, too, and went over to her. "Hey Naya." She placed a hand on the open book while she crouched in front of her. The Juggernaut watches as he drank his water.

"You've been reading for three hours nonstop. Drink." The Templar Assassin looked up from her book and blinked, as if she had just woken up or something. Maybe she got lost in her books, he had heard some people did that. They were so engrossed in the writing that they forgot everything around them.

"Thanks." The Templar Assassin took the water her girlfriend had gotten her.

"You are welcome." Rylai's smile was bright and beautiful and before she stood up she kissed the Assassin on her cheek quickly.

Yurnero saw how Lanaya watched Rylai walking over to him and he was surprised. He had known that they were a couple but he could see how much the Assassin loved the Maiden in the way she looked at her. He would've never thought that this creature, a ruthless assassin, was able of emotions of such depth, but it was so clearly there. He thought that she might even be smiling underneath her half mask. Astonishing.

The Maiden stayed until late that night. Before she left, the two females standing hand in hand in front of his tent underneath the starry sky, she told Yurnero not to wait too long for Abaddon. "Maybe you can visit him. If it is a family matter, maybe you can be with him while he solves it. He doesn't have to be _here_ to be with you, you can as well be _there_."

They hadn't talked about the Lord of Avernus or Yurnero's relationship with the human. Yurnero had just put the most important information into the letters he had sent his two friends and the rest Rylai probably knew from Alleria. He didn't even want to think about what other source the female might have to get information about him or Abaddon. It was unsettling to have a friend who knew everything, always. It was good when he needed information about a creature and not so good when it concerned himself and his private life.

But one couldn't have it all, the Juggernaut suspected. If the Maiden knew everything, it included everyone, even her friends. Or maybe especially her friends. He didn't dare ask.

Her suggestion wasn't so bad but maybe it would take only a few days for the Lord of Avernus to return. And he had told Yurnero to wait here for him. If it would take the human too long, then, the orc decided, he'd do as advised and visit him.

With a last hug, during which the Crystal Maiden didn't let go of the Assassin's hand, they said good-bye. Then the females teleported back home. And Yurnero was alone.

* * *

He waited a few weeks, even got a handful of letters from the Lord of Avernus (they didn't include much information except a 'hello' and 'I'm still with my family' and 'it'll take longer'). But one day he just had enough of all the waiting. He packed what he needed and left to visit Abaddon.

"Hey, I thought, since you had stuff to do at your home, I could just come to you." Yurnero stood in front of the open door and was unsure what to do. Should he hug Abaddon? Kiss him? Underneath the hood nothing of the Lord's face was visible so the orc couldn't assess what the human felt or thought. He could only see how straight he held himself, as if the orc was some stranger in front of his door.

At least the Juggernaut had his mask on so his insecurity wasn't evident on his features. He decided to simply wait for the human to make the first step.

The Lord of Avernus didn't react, which made the orc even more unsure and a little nervous. It had seemed like a good idea to come here but the longer the Lord just stood there doing nothing, saying nothing, the more he doubted his decision.

"Aba, how long does it take you to answer the door? You really use every possible excuse to get away from us." A woman appeared behind Abaddon. A woman who made the Lord tense all over and step aside to make room for her, who made him lower his head as if he felt beneath her. Or as a sign of respect? The changes in his posture were tiny but the orc knew him well enough by now to see them.

The Juggernaut frowned and scanned the human female.

She was relatively average looking for a human. A woman, middle aged, dark hair with a lot of grey threaded through. Neither ugly nor beautiful, her gaze was stern and she held her head high, clearly self-confident. She wore a black and blue dress with long sleeves that was wide enough not to show off her body in any way. Nothing special about her and definitely nothing to bow to.

"And who might you be?" Her voice was normal, too, though it held an edge of command to it. It made Yurnero's frown deepen. No one commanded him, and especially not some human female. But he was a visitor here and since Abaddon didn't say or do anything, he decided to answer, more politely than he felt like doing.

"I'm the Juggernaut." _Bitch_.

The way the woman looked him over made him tense up, too. She clearly thought she was something better though she knew nothing of him. Since he knew nothing of her, she could be. She could be some queen (though he doubted it, considering her dress wasn't that fancy) or some powerful mage or whatever. Not that any of that made her thinking she was something better excusable but it would make it at least understandable.

She even seemed to think he wasn't worth talking to anymore because she turned away. "Aba, sent him away. And hurry."

As soon as she was gone, the Lord of Avernus raised his eyes to look at Yurnero. "You should leave." It sounded defensive. Whoever the woman was, the Lord of Avernus did what she told him to. He obviously didn't like it, being commanded around like that. Somehow this female had a hold over him.

Maybe he should go home, maybe this had been a bad idea, but he wouldn't just leave like that. Leave Abaddon like that. He wanted to help the Lord, wanted to back him and be there for him. Strange that he thought the human needed backup.

The Juggernaut wasn't unsure anymore. If anything, he was angry at the female because she made the Lord of Avernus behave in a way that was completely unusual and strange. He stepped forward and pulled his mask up. Then he slipped his hands into Abaddon's hood, framing the face he couldn't see. He didn't have to see his face to hold him. And not to kiss him. Their lips touched. The Lord remained tense for about a second.

With a sigh he relaxed, slung his arms around Yurnero's neck and opened his mouth, deepening the kiss immediately. He pushed close, their bodies touching, and fisted one hand in the orc's hair.

A little breathless, they parted, but since Abaddon still had a tight grip on Yurnero's hair, the orc couldn't move very far. He wanted to say something but was interrupted.

"Aba, if you don't come inside immediately, I'll come and drag you. Are you sure you want that?"

The tension was back in an instant at these words from the strange woman. Abaddon stepped back so fast that Yurnero's lost his balance a little.

"Go. I'll come to you when I can." The Lord of Avernus hesitated a moment but then he just moved backwards so he could close the door.

"Wait!" The Juggernaut was fully prepared to hold the door open, but he didn't have to. "Do you really want me to leave you alone? I can stay with you."

The Lord of Avernus sighed. "Thank you. But you don't want to be here with them."

"You don't want to, either. Maybe it's easier together?" He didn't know who 'them' were but if 'them' included the strange woman, Abaddon did not only don't want to be here with them, but probably _hated_ to be here.

The Lord shook his head. "It's not like that. I don't mind them. But _you'll_ be miserable."

Yurnero smiled. Because Abaddon was stalling. He did want him to stay. He just didn't want to say it because 'them' were obviously so bad, at least in his opinion. It was probably an inner conflict between wanting Yurnero close and not wanting him to have to be around 'them'. "I'm miserable without you all the time, too. Let me stay."

"Are you really sure?" The human's gaze was intense. The Juggernaut nodded.

"I warned you, don't forget that." As the Lord of Avernus opened the door wider, the orc pulled his mask back over his face and entered the house. Then he followed Abaddon. He'd simply stick around and watch what was going on. He was curious, especially since Abaddon's letters had contained absolutely no useful information.

They entered the room where they'd had breakfast the last time Yurnero had been here. But this time it was full of creatures. After a quick scan he realized that it were all humans. There were about maybe thirty of them, some old, some young, more female than male. Some were sitting at the table, which was filled with food, some were standing around in smaller groups. They were all talking but when Abaddon and Yurnero entered the room, one after the other stopped until they were all staring at the Juggernaut.

"May I present to you a dear friend of mine, the Juggernaut, the last juggernaut of the Isle of Masks. He came to visit me and I offered him to stay a few nights. He won't interfere in any family matters, so please don't bother him with any of it."

A dear friend of his? Was that what they were? Dear friends? Well, he supposed it was a better description than many other. Or maybe he didn't want the human's to know that there was more between them? Was there more between them? Yurnero pushed the thoughts away. They'd only lead to doubts and now was definitely not the time to think about this. And he couldn't ask Abaddon any of those questions now, anyway.

One after the other of the humans turned away and resumed chatting, until their voices were a steady hum in the room. The strange woman and a younger one, looking very alike, approached the Lord of Avernus. "You let him stay? Why? Do you think it will gain you something?" The older one asked.

The younger one laughed. "A friend! That's new. You never had a friend before! No wonder, you being, well, _you_." She patted Abaddon on the arm. "Oh Aba, he probably just wants something from you." Shaking her head she walked away.

Yurnero was shocked. What had that been? He stared after the woman, only slowly comprehending how she had just, in passing, insulted not only Abaddon, but also _him_. He wanted to go after her and hit her ( _insolent human_ ), but Abaddon touched him on the hand for a second. It was just a brush of his fingers but Yurnero knew that it was a sign to stay. He gave absolutely no other indication about what he wanted, didn't look at the Juggernaut or anything. Instead, he remained focused on the strange woman in front of him. "I don't want to gain anything by having a friend here. How would I? He came to visit and since you wanted me not to linger at the door, I invited him in."

Not completely true. Yurnero watched the interaction between the two. The woman clearly disapproved about the Juggernaut being here. Abaddon was tense, as if he waited for the woman's anger to hit. In the end she simply shrugged. "He has to stay away from everything that has to do with our family. And give him a room as far away from mine as possible. I don't want to see him more than I have to." She looked at the Juggernaut almost with disgust. "I'm impressed that you found someone who conceals his face like you do. I didn't think there were many creatures like that. Now show him to his room, we have a lot of issues to discuss." She waved her hand dismissively while she turned around. Like one would sent a servant away.

Never would Yurnero have thought that Abaddon let anyone talk to him like that. But the male even bowed slightly (though the woman didn't look at him anymore) before he left the room. The Juggernaut followed with one last glance at the room and the humans milling around. He wasn't good with humans and they always looked all alike to him. But these were obviously all family. Abaddon's family? And they acted the way they did? One ordering him around like a servant and one laughing at him and insulting him?

The orc didn't have a family but he knew that one wasn't supposed to be like that. Family was supposed to be more like Rylai and Alleria were towards him.

They didn't talk as Yurnero followed Abaddon through his house. The Lord of Avernus led him to a room. "You can stay here."

He closed the door behind them and pulled his hood away. The Juggernaut wanted to kiss him but there was a distance to the human's features that made him stay where he was. "I don't have much time before my mother will send someone to fetch me." The only thing that betrayed how much he loathed that she did that was the tension in his shoulders and the slight tightening of his lips. Tiny details which no one probably ever saw. Probably not even his mother, though she (and Yurnero was sure that the strange woman was his mother) obviously didn't care weather her son hated the way she treated him or not.

"There are some rules my mother will have an eye on and that I advise you to respect. We are discussing family matters here and only family is allowed to be present when we talk about them. I'm not even allowed to tell you what we are discussing. You can be around when we eat but the rest of the time you should stay as far away from the dining room as possible. We have set times for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you are not present at these times you can see if you find left over food in the kitchen. I won't have time to show you around or to be with you, my mother wants me with her as soon as she is awake. My whole family will probably ignore you, be glad about that." He took a deep breath. "You can leave whenever you have enough of being here." He hesitated a moment. "I'm sorry."

That had been a long speech, probably the longest Yurnero had ever heard from him.

"I don't mind being here." Yurnero shrugged, then removed his mask. "Better than being alone at my home." And it was. He had felt so very lonely and miserable, he didn't care how much time Abaddon would have to spend with him. The only important thing was that he was near.

"I'm not sure you will say that in a few days." The human smiled wryly. "You haven't really met my family, yet."

They looked at each other. Yurnero didn't know what to say but he was glad to see Abaddon. He had been afraid that, after what they had done the last night they had been together, the Lord didn't want to have him around anymore. That he was running away. That it had been too much and he didn't really want it. That he regretted his actions. Of course Yurnero couldn't be sure, yet, that this wasn't all the case but seeing the human eased his worries.

"I need to get back." But instead of moving away, Abaddon came closer until their bodies were almost touching. Yurnero had to look down at him and though it was only a little, it always astounded him. The Lord of Avernus seemed taller than he was, his whole being giving off a vibe of confidence in a way that made him appear larger. Even when Yurnero was looking down at him he didn't _feel_ taller.

Abaddon touched his gloved hand to Yurnero's cheek. "I don't want to tell them about us." He closed his eyes, his jaw tightening. "I'm sorry, but… they shouldn't know about me being with you." His hand had found its way to the back of Yurnero's head and had fisted in his hair. The human obviously liked this position where he could pull the orc's head down and hold him, where he had control over him. Not that Yurnero minded it at all, since always when he'd had Abaddon's hand in his hair like that he had been kissed. He didn't mind that the human had some control over him that way because he trusted him. And until now this control had always led to something good, to something pleasurable.

He followed Abaddon's lead as the human pulled his head down now and rested their foreheads together. "I wish I could explain it to you, but I'd have to talk about topics I'm forbidden to tell you. I'm not even sure that mother would approve of me being friends with you should they figure out that you are an orc." There was sadness in his voice and resignation. The Juggernaut hated to hear him like that. He would like to help him but he wasn't sure he was able to. He'd stay and he'd watch and he'd offer anything he could. Of course he didn't like it that he had to hide being an orc (though since he always wore his mask it wasn't that much of additional hiding) and he liked even less that he and Abaddon had to hide what was between them. Though the orc was very pleased that Abaddon had said there was _something_ between them.

Yurnero smiled a little as he cupped Abaddon's face. "Okay. I'll try to stick to the rules. Anything else I should know? Or do? Or not do?"

The Lord of Avernus opened his eyes and their gazed collided. He moved his face far enough back to be able to get the orc into focus. "Don't hit anyone."

There was that. The Juggernaut scrunched his nose and growled. If the humans here kept acting like they had done in the two minutes he had met them, then this would be the hardest rule not to break of them all. He had already wanted to hit the one female. After only a few moments. And Abaddon's mother, at the door. "I'll try."

Before Abaddon could answer or dig up more rules the Juggernaut didn't like, he kissed him.


	12. Chapter 11

okay, more of this family stuff. still not sure if I like it or not. not sure if I can get the things across I want to. anyway, enjoy reading!

* * *

Yurnero took a break and grabbed the bottle of water he had placed in the grass. From the corner of his eyes he registered a human female, a young one, next to a smaller tree, watching him. She had been there for a while now but hadn't interrupted his training.

"Wow, you are strong." The gaze of the girl ran up and down Yurnero's body admiringly. Then she bit her lip and batted her lashed at him. "All those muscles, it makes me weak in the knees." She sauntered over when she saw that the Juggernaut didn't intend to start moving in the next few seconds. She swung her hips from side to side excessively. The Juggernaut watched, curious what the female would do next. Was she trying to seduce him?

With a quite humming sound, the human stretched her hand out and placed her fingers against his chest. She batted her lashes again and smiled up at the Juggernaut. Compared to him, she was tiny. Small and thin. He didn't dare touch her in case she might break. He could take a step back, though, to get her hand off his skin.

She followed him immediately and this time she put her palm against his skin and stroked down to his navel. "You feel even better than you look." She leaned against him. Straightforward going for what she wanted. Definitely trying to seduce him.

"Don't bother. I'm gay." His words made her stop, then frown a little. She left her hand on his stomach but she ceased from leaning against him.

"You are gay?" The female cocked her head to one side. "Are you sure?"

What a stupid question. The Juggernaut growled.

Startled, the girl pulled her hand back before she snorted and put both hands on her hips. "Okay, I assume that means 'yes'. No need to get nasty. I was just asking." She let her eyes travel up and down his body and sighed. "What a shame." Then she froze, her eyes growing wide, her head whipping up to look into his face. Or mask. Whatever. "You are gay." Her voice was strangely flat as she repeated the words. "Shit." She muttered the curse, then dragged one hand through her hair. The Juggernaut was confused. There were too many emotions flittering across the human's face and he couldn't decipher them all. The change from sexy to this was too fast and he didn't understand why she cursed.

Before he could ask her about it, the girl suddenly grabbed his hand and tried to pull him with her. When he didn't budge, she made an annoyed sound. "Come with me, it's _important_." Her eyes darted from one side to the other and she dropped her voice. "I can't tell you here, but you need to know! It's about Aba, something he isn't allowed to tell you but you have to know. Mother didn't forbid _me_ to talk about it." She winked, then pulled on his hand again and Yurnero followed this time. It wasn't as if she could do him any harm and she seemed to be serious.

At the stables, the girl stopped. "We go for a ride. Do you want your own horse or want to share one with me?" She raised her brows and grinned, clearly liking the idea of sharing. Yurnero didn't so much. He didn't like riding very much, either, but sharing a mount with some tiny human girl who'd just made a pass at him was even worse. So he sheathed his blade and fastened the bottle of water to his belt before he readied one of the horses. One of the big ones, of course. The girl showed him which would be best. If it was a trick, he could always jump down and walk back.

But so far he didn't feel like this was a trap or trick. There was absolutely no sense of danger around the human, no sense of anything false. He was careful, though. His experiences with humans weren't all that good and what he had seen of this family so far, it made him wary.

The female took the lead until they reached a small lake in the open forest near the house. She dismounted and patted her horse before she sat down at the water. The Juggernaut had been extremely alert during the ride but there was no danger. He sat down next to the girl, with enough space between them so she couldn't touch.

A minute passed in silence before she raised her knees, folded her arms on them and laid her head on her arms, turned in Yurnero's direction. She looked even smaller like that but it was such an unthreatening pose that the Juggernaut relaxed. "So, what do you want to tell me? And why did we have to come here for it?"

"First, you surely won't like what I tell you. Don't be mad at Aba please. It's not his fault. Mother forbade him to talk about anything regarding his family and he vowed he wouldn't. He's bound by his vow now. I'm too unimportant so mother mostly ignores me. That's why I know everything." The girl grinned cheekily. "I became good at spying. I'm very curious. Anyway," her features turned serious again, "I want to tell you why we are all here. It's because we need an heir. The family needs an heir and it is Aba's duty to, ah, well, to make one." She scrunched her nose. "As if he's the only one who can make a baby. But mother is adamant that it has to be him, so no one contradicts her. And Aba sees it generally like her, strangely enough. Whatever. The problem is just, he hasn't found a woman. Mother isn't sure if he simply doesn't want to commit, if he wants to get out of his responsibilities or if there really is a problem. She says he doesn't take this all serious enough."

"But he's gay." He was obviously gay. The way he kissed Yurnero and, well, the other stuff… Maybe he was bisexual or something like that? Could be possible and Yurnero had never asked him.

The girl laughed. "Yeah, I figured that out just now. When you told me you were gay." She raised her head and looked at the water in front of her. "No one knows _that_. He hasn't told anyone. But finally I know why he sent all these women mother brought here back immediately."

So that was why they had to keep their 'relationship' secret. "What would your mother do if she knew he was gay?"

"I don't know." With a frown, the female rested her head back on her arms. "Hard to tell. But she won't be happy, that's for sure. Maybe she'll ignore it and try even harder to find a woman for him. I'm sure she won't stop until she has an heir."

It wasn't hard to believe that. The female was definitely determined. And persistent. If she wanted an heir, she wouldn't give up until she had one. The question remained: "Why does it have to be him?"

"Aba? Because he's the oldest and it is his duty. He is the heir."

What a strange concept. What did it matter if he was the oldest, the heir? He had lots of siblings, not even all of them were here. Any one of them could get a baby.

The female reached out with one hand and touched the tips of her fingers against his upper arm. So he hadn't chosen his spot far enough away to prevent that. But it was different than before, her touch holding nothing of the seductiveness from earlier.

"Don't tell anyone you're gay. If they figure this all out and someone tells mother she'll be furious. Aba has to tell her, no one else. You have to be careful." She pulled her hand back and stared at Yurnero, her eyes big and serious. "If you need help, ask me. Since mother ignores me anyway, I can do what I want as long as it stays underneath her notice."

It was a nice offer but the Juggernaut didn't trust her enough to ask her for anything. He nodded nonetheless. Since the girl now knew things of which she said their mother should not hear about, he had to play nice and not anger her. She said she was on their side but that could as well change.

* * *

Two days passed with Yurnero only seeing Abaddon during the meals. The Lord of Avernus didn't talk to him then, he barely looked at him. He seemed to want to draw as little attention as possible though it didn't really work, no matter how much he focused on his food as if it was the only thing existing. Someone was always talking to him and once, when he didn't answer some stupid question from one of the humans, his mother, who always sat by his side, smacked him on the shoulder.

Abaddon froze for an instant and Yurnero was sure that he'd react to this. The woman was some frail human female, how could she hit him and get away with it? But the Lord only shook his head slightly and answered the question.

Yurnero wanted so badly to get up and hurt the woman, his hands were shaking. He balled them into fists and hid them underneath the table. Abaddon had asked him not to hit anyone. In the end he just got up and left. It made him too angry, to watch how they treated Abaddon and not be allowed to do anything.

His anger lasted throughout the whole day and he didn't eat dinner with the Lord and his family. Instead he went to the kitchen, where he found some food. He took it to his room and stayed there for the rest of the day. He did some stretching exercises and sharpened his blade.

Suddenly it knocked and in the same moment the door opened. The Juggernaut was ready to fight within a second. But it was the Lord of Avernus who entered and closed the door behind him quickly. He leaned against the wood for a moment and Yurnero lowered his blade, then put it away and removed his mask. He looked back at the Lord and the human rushed forward. He buried a hand in the orc's hair and brought their mouths together. The kiss was fast and hot and Yurnero was backed against the wall behind him. Abaddon moaned and pressed closer. He ground against the orc for a moment before he pulled back and frantically ripped his clothes from his body. He was naked within seconds. Yurnero blinked, confused. Not that he wanted to complain about having a naked Abaddon in front of him but he didn't understand what this was about. Well, of course he understood why the human got naked but why now?

The Lord of Avernus made an impatient sound and pulled Yurnero's pants down. "Get them _off_."

As soon as he had, he was shoved over to the bed. The human seemed determined today. "On your hands and knees." And very imperious. When the Juggernaut didn't obey immediately, the Lord of Avernus even growled. Then he grabbed him, turned him around and pushed him down on the bed. Yurnero was, as always, astonished by the strength of the human. Of course, if he had resisted, Abaddon wouldn't have been able to handle him like that. But other humans weren't even able to do so when he didn't resist.

His mind was still in the process of catching up with the situation, when Yurnero felt fingers stroking over his arse. One hand came to lie flat on his lower back while the other moved into his crack. Very determined. The orc was slightly aroused but he wasn't sure if he liked how this proceeded. It seemed wrong somehow and way too fast. When a second later Abaddon pushed a finger into his opening without any warning, foreplay or whatever, he had enough. "Stop."

Abaddon growled and continued. Yurnero growled back and decided this was it. He had enough. He moved forward and turned. Now facing Abaddon, he crossed his arms in front of his chest (which probably didn't look that impressive with his cook being half hard and him kneeling naked on a bed). The human bared his teeth. Cute. "I didn't say you could get up. I'm not finished with you."

Yurnero snorted. "Yeah, I didn't think you were. But I'm not taking commands from you like that."

The black mist around the human flared, getting darker and flickering faster over his skin. His eyes shone bright through it. "Stupid orc." The Lord of Avernus straightened and took a few steps back. "I want you to leave. Leave my house."

The words shocked Yurnero. This whole situation was nothing like any interaction the two of them had ever had. What was this? He couldn't figure out the _why_ now, he had to do something. He had thought about leaving, because he couldn't stand to watch all the time how his family treated Abaddon. But this, now? He couldn't leave. Maybe the human wasn't his boyfriend, maybe they were scarcely more than friends, but even so, he couldn't leave his friend when he was like that. This angry and irrational human being was nothing like the usually cool and collected Lord of Avernus. No way would he leave him. Something must have happened to make him behave like that and it had to be bad to get him out of his usually centred self.

But as he approached Abaddon, the mist around him darkened even more. "Don't touch me. I said I want you to leave!"

"No." Before he could say or do anything more, explain anything, the Lord of Avernus attacked him. They were both naked, Abaddon fully aroused (Yurnero at least half so), and the weapons were out of reach. The orc tried to defend himself and not hurt the human, but Abaddon was furious and he wasn't playing fair.

The Juggernaut avoided two kicks that had been aimed at his groin before he decided to deal as much out as he was receiving. He didn't aim for the human's men parts (because he thought he might need them eventually) but he fought as dirty as he knew how to otherwise. Since he was a tad bigger and stronger than the Lord and their skill was about the same level, it was foreseeable that the orc would win.

The fight took longer than the Juggernaut had expected, though, with the human being angry enough to keep going though he must hurt all over. In the end Yurnero was able to pin him to the floor with his higher body mass.

Both of them were panting, their breathing harsh in the otherwise silent room. Abaddon tried to throw Yurnero off once but when he couldn't, he sagged down on the floor, all tension leaving his body all of a sudden. He closed his eyes and the black mist dulled. Not trusting him yet, the Juggernaut remained in his position.

"I think I'm fine now." The Lord of Avernus ground out between breaths. His voice sounded much calmer and the Juggernaut moved from on top of him to next of him. Besides, the human didn't look as if would be able to get up anytime soon. Some bruises were already forming, dark against the light skin. Yurnero got up and retrieved a healing salve from one of his bags. He himself was fine, just a little exhausted but his thicker orcen skin had shielded him from most of the damage. In a fist fight a human stood no chance against an orc.

He sat down and began to put healing salve on every bruise he could see. Abaddon didn't move once. He opened his eyes some time and watched the orc, but Yurnero ignored him. He hoped the Lord would explain what this had all been about without him having to pry. And he wanted to get him patched up. He had tried to pull his hits but often enough it hadn't been possible with the way the human had attacked him. So the least he could do was to heal him now.

When he was finished he closed the healing salve and threw it in the direction of his backpack.

"Thank you." Abaddon still didn't move but his gaze was completely focused on Yurnero. The orc stared back, his face impassive, waiting. Aside from the fact that he didn't know what to say or do regarding this more than uncharacteristic outburst from Abaddon, he didn't think it was him who should break the silence here.

After a few minutes of staring, the Lord sighed. "I'm sorry." He grimaced. "Mother was wearisome today and then she mocked you when you left the table and suddenly I was afraid you'd leave and I got so _angry_. Angry because I can't solve this problem we have and as long as it stands, I can't be with you and I'm afraid it will all take too long and that by then you're gone. I think, maybe, I wanted to let this anger out on you. I shouldn't have done that."

"No you shouldn't. But I understand that you needed an outlet. Next time just tell me and I'll gladly fight with you. And, I won't leave. Not that easily anyway. Not as long as you don't want me to."

"Thank you."

This was the first time they were together, alone, without anyone calling for the Lord of Avernus, since the Juggernaut had arrived. And they were both naked. But there was something they had to discuss first. "You sister told me why you are all here and what your mother wants of you." He watched how Abaddon's eyes widened and continued. "She said no one here can know you are gay because you have to produce an heir." The Lord winced. "She also offered me help, should I need it."

"Oh no… I'm sorry, please don't be mad." Abaddon sat up slowly and leaned against the wall at his back. "I'm not allowed to talk about this. I… I can't."

Well, his sister had said so and he hadn't doubted her. Of course the Lord of Avernus wouldn't break a promise, no matter what it had been about, once he had given it. If he had promised not to talk about this, then he wouldn't. "I know. I'm not mad. Not at you, at least. I do have the urge to kill your mother, though."

With a groan, the human let his head fall back against the wall with a soft thud. "Please don't. She's my mother."

"I won't. But don't you think you are old enough to make some decisions on your own? For example, if you want a kid or not?" Yurnero didn't understand how Abaddon could let someone push him around like the human female did.

"It's not…" the Lord of Avernus sighed. Then he got up and slowly got dressed. "I don't know if I can explain it, I just…" He stared at Yurnero for a moment, then he shook his head. "It's complicated, I guess. I'm the oldest son. With it comes responsibility and duties I can't skirt. It _is_ my duty to give the family an heir, I want to do this. And, somehow, I in fact do want to have a kid."

"And what if you are not able to give her one? If you are not able to impregnate a female?"

The Lord of Avernus looked at the Juggernaut and slowly pulled his hood over his face. "I don't know. I'm trying to find a solution forever." Then he slipped out of the room. Yurnero sat on the floor for a long time after the human had left, trying to understand him and his family.


	13. Chapter 12

The Juggernaut tried to zone out mentally so he didn't hear what the humans around him were talking about, but it was impossible. Abaddon's mother couldn't be zoned out. And she was persistent this evening. Yurnero was sure that he couldn't take much more before he had to leave to prevent himself from hitting her.

"In a few days the daughter of a friend of mine will arrive. I expect you to be nice to her. She knows why she's sent here and I expect you to try harder than last time. Keep your hood on and show her something of you that she might like."

One of the females snickered. "Try _harder_." Another snickered. A male snorted.

"I don't care how you do it, just get her pregnant."

"You know that I probably won't." Abaddon's voice was calm, the words spoken as if he had said them a thousand times by now.

"I only know that you refuse to even try. Just get her naked and shove your dick into her. Can't be such a huge problem, now can it?"

A few more snickers around the table. No one else was talking, everyone focused on the conversation between mother and son.

"Maybe you want one of us to show you?" One of the males grinned at Abaddon.

"Be quite." Yurnero almost thought that his mother chastised him for talking to Abaddon like that. Of course that wasn't the case. "If she gets pregnant from your worthless semen we've won nothing except some stupid female with an even stupider child on our heels. Keep your pants on. And Aba, for the sake of all, get your pants off and get this heir business done! I'm really getting tired of talking about it all the time."

"I told you that I won't get anyone pregnant like that." Abaddon sounded defensive.

"Yes, you did. But you also told me you have no friends. And see what's popped up in front of your door." She waved in the general direction of the Juggernaut without looking at him. "I'm sure you're able to get the woman pregnant if you want to."

"Mother, it doesn't work like that. It isn't about wanting or not wanting to. You know that I always try." By now the Lord had stopped eating. He was tense all over. Yurnero watched him while he slowly lifted his fork to his mouth. It seemed like it was worse today, like this direction of the topic affected Abaddon more than anything else did. He was always tense, but never like that. Well, his mother had never breached this topic during meals until today.

"Great, you want to start this discussion again? I think you just never tried enough and want to get out of your responsibilities. Ask your friend, he seems to take his responsibilities seriously with continuing the traditions of the Isle of Masks though he is the last juggernaut. And when you're at it, ask him how to get into a woman's pants. He looks like he has enough experience with that. Maybe you'll listen to your friend if you don't listen to me."

"Mother." Now it almost sounded pleading. Yurnero blinked, thinking that maybe he hadn't heard correctly. Had the Lord's mother just suggested the human should get advice from him about how to get into a female's pants?

"What?" The female continued. "To intimate a topic for you two? Or does he not know that you never laid a woman before? Or is he unable to get it up, too?" What the hell was that? This conversation was drifting in a direction the Juggernaut found highly gross and inappropriate. And he didn't like one bit how the human female involved him into her arguments. He thought about interjecting, then, but wasn't sure if it was a good idea. This seemed to be Abaddon's fight.

"I wonder how your friendship works, the two of you concealing your faces all the time. Never talking. Must be awesome." Her tone said how much she thought it wasn't awesome at all. Then she turned towards her son, piercing him with her gaze. "I don't care how you do it, but get this woman pregnant."

"Mother, please stop it."

She sighed. "We need an heir for the family. The woman is fine, so I want you to give it a serious try."

"Mother, what is wrong with you? You know that I try, always." Abaddon rose from his chair and pulled his hood from his face. "It's enough, I have enough. I want you to stop now."

One of his sisters sighed. "Aba, put your hood back on, no one wants to see your ugly face." She was ignored by both, mother and son. But Yurnero frowned at her, confused. Ugly? Was she blind? This family was strange in every regard. Did they all think Abaddon was ugly? Was it due to the black mist? Because otherwise he looked just like any other human, only… more attractive.

A slight rising of eye-brows from Abaddon's mother in answer to his interjection. "You want me to stop. I want for you to give me an heir. Seems no one is getting what they want today."

"I won't give you an heir, ever."

"The 'ever' is new here." She frowned. "This was always a problem, what makes it suddenly impossible?"

"I'm in a relationship with Yurnero."

"Who's…? Ah, the Juggernaut. So now you want to tell me you are gay to get out of this heir business? How mature of you. First this than that. Can't you decide on one excuse?" Her gaze was piercing and the tension in the air was almost palpable by now. It had been bad throughout the whole meal but this was worse. It seemed the human female had gotten so used to the Juggernaut being around that she hadn't bothered about keeping the topic of conversation at the dining table off their family matters today.

Her verbal hits against her son had been many tonight and then she had even included the Juggernaut into it. That must've been the final step too much, the tiny thing that had pushed Abaddon too hard. He had endured the female and her pestering for weeks, had been forced to stay away from Yurnero because of her though he was around all the time and now she kept insulting him in front of the Juggernaut and insulting the Juggernaut, too. His anger had been building the last days, Yurnero had known it wouldn't take much longer for the human to snap. He might be ever patient but even someone like him could be pushed too hard.

It was evident in his complete posture. He had decided to go this route and now he'd do so. He leaned forward, the black mist swirling over his skin, and stared at his mother with an expressionless face. "I'm not gay, I don't care neither about sex nor about race. I am, on the other hand, only able to have sex with someone I love. I could _never_ impregnate some woman I don't know, which you already _knew_ , but since I'm with Yurnero now, it doesn't matter anyway. I don't care about your obsession with me giving you an heir anymore. Take one of my siblings for that task, I'm out." He straightened. "Nothing will change my mind, not in a million years." Everyone in the room silently stared at the Lord of Avernus, even the Juggernaut. The human had just revealed some information that had hit the orc like a sledgehammer. The fact that he, probably for the first time ever, broke a vow of his here wasn't nearly as important as the other things he had said.

 _I am only able to have sex with someone I love._

The implications of that…. Yurnero's heart beat frantically in his chest and he desperately willed Abaddon to look at him so he could maybe see the truth about these words on his face.

"This doesn't change my mind in the least." The female's tone was as arrogant as ever. "I can live with the fact you have to love someone before you can be together with them. I always have, I just think you never even really tried to love any of the females I introduced you to. I'll find you a nice woman to love. And you don't care about gender or race? That doesn't in the least concern me and the fact I want an heir."

"I'll repeat it slowly for you: I" he emphasized every single word, "will not leave Yurnero. You will not get an heir from me."

The female opened her mouth to answer but the Lord of Avernus was finished. He turned away from her, his gaze landing on Yurnero, who was staring at the human in a mix of joy and shock, his fork hanging in mid-air. "Let's get out of here."

"Abaddon!" The human female's tone was sharp as a knife but the Lord of Avernus ignored her. He walked around the tables towards the door. Yurnero dropped his fork and hastily stood up to follow.

"Abaddon, I forbid you to leave this room!"

The Juggernaut almost snorted. If the stupid female really knew her son she'd know that absolutely nothing could sway him once he had decided on something. He was like a boulder rolling down a hill. Once on the run, it was impossible to stop him.

"Abaddon!"

With a kick the orc shut the door behind them as he followed the Lord of Avernus. The human went straight to the stables and saddled Ruin without speaking a word. He didn't have to, it was obvious that he needed to get some distance between himself and his mother and that he intended to do so by going for a ride. Yurnero choose the horse he had ridden once already and readied it, too. Abaddon was finished way sooner (of course, since he had way more experience with these beasts) but he waited, silently watching the orc. It was fine, they weren't really in a hurry.

While they rode through the forest, the Lord of Avernus slowly relaxed. He hadn't put his hood back on and Yurnero could see how the swirling of the black mist got slower, how the intensity of it got lesser, how the frown between his brows faded.

"Well, that went better than expected." Abaddon's deep voice was calm and controlled as always and hearing him like that while being alone with him sent a shiver down the orcs back, as it did so often.

"Can she do something to you? I mean, would she actually hurt her own son?"

The human snorted. "She can't physically harm me. I'm the Lord of Avernus. And she'd never hurt me. Or one of my siblings. She is our mother, she just sometimes has a little temper problem and she is impatient by default."

"She wouldn't?" That was strange. "Then why do you let her talk to you like that? Why didn't you already tell her you won't give her the heir she wants right at the beginning?" What could he probably have for a reason to let her treat him like that when he didn't fear her?

"I told her that it isn't that simple, more than once. And she accepted it. It isn't about that, it's just that she is impatient and this has been going for years, for way too long. I think she's afraid she'll die one day without ever seeing her grandson. Besides, she's my mother, I don't like to contradict her" he sighed, "and it is my duty to give my family an heir. I'm the first born, the strongest, the Lord of Avernus. It _is_ my duty. And she's my mother. I can't hurt her, and I don't mean only physically, I don't want to disappoint her. I love her and I want her to be proud of me. I don't know, I want her approval. And I tried, I want to give my family this heir. I want to have my own family, a partner and kids. It's just..." He sighed again.

"Oh." Suddenly Yurnero understood this concept. Not with family, he didn't have any of that. He didn't know his parents, didn't know if he had siblings or such. And he didn't care.

But it was like the brotherhood of the sword. Like his master. He'd never spoken against him either, had been seeking his approval forever. And now that the Juggernaut was the only one left, he felt like it was his duty to carry on with their traditions, with their style of fighting, with everything that had made them the juggernauts of the Isle of Masks. Though no one ever told him to do so.

Would he have dared go against his master's wishes if it had been something he didn't want to do? Well, somehow he had, but not because it had been something regarding himself. It had been way bigger, affecting so many. If it had been solely about him, he'd never have acted against the wishes of his master.

They rode in silence for a while and Yurnero thought about it. The problem obviously wasn't the human female (he would've never believed that). The problem was that Abaddon felt like he _had_ to give his family an heir, no matter what he had just told his mother.

An heir of his blood.

And that he wanted to be in a relationship with Yurnero. At that thought he glanced at the human with a smile, which was covered by his mask. Had he meant what he had said? About him and sex and loving someone? The Juggernaut almost asked him but he was anxious that the Lord would wave it away as not true. As something he had just said. And it wasn't something they had to work out now.

Yurnero wanted to solve this heir thing for the human. He hadn't wanted to before, because he'd thought it was simply something his mother desired, and Abaddon just hadn't wanted to tell her 'no' about. But now, it was something Abaddon wanted to do because he thought it was his duty (no matter how stupid it might be). And he thought he couldn't and everyone could see how hard this all was for him.

They had to find a solution and it couldn't be that impossible. What had the stupid humans done so far? Shoved females at Abaddon and hoped he'd accidentally nock one up? And what had Abaddon done? Had he been too absorbed in the problem to search for a solution? Had he thought there wasn't one and therefore hadn't even tried? Maybe they had and there _was_ none, but he'd bet his last shirt that Abaddon's mother hadn't bothered finding a solution that didn't involve tons of females and sex. That would've been something for her son to do.

"Have you ever thought about producing an heir without having to sleep with someone?"

Abaddon frowned at Yurnero shortly before he kept staring ahead of him without focus. That was definitely a no, the orc decided. He obviously deemed this a question he didn't have to answer. Because he thought it was a stupid question? Because he thought something like that wasn't possible? Yurnero almost laughed. Everything was possible as long as one knew the right creatures.

An heir, of Abaddon's blood. So he didn't have to sleep with some female he didn't know. Better, didn't have to sleep with anyone since he was in a relationship with Yurnero and the orc wasn't like Alleria. He wasn't sure he wanted to share his boyfriend with anyone, not even for a limited time or something.

An heir, of Abaddon's blood. He couldn't solve this problem alone but he definitely knew who could help him. He didn't tell Abaddon because, well, the human obviously didn't think there was a solution to the problem not involving actual sex. And because he had sworn not to talk with anyone about their family matters. But Yurnero hadn't, he could involve whoever he wanted in this. The orc grinned. He was suddenly sure that everything would be just fine.

Back in the house, everyone was already in their rooms. The Lord of Avernus hesitated in front of Yurnero's door but then he only leaned up and hugged him, followed by a short but sweet kiss, before leaving for his own room. _Soon_ , the orc promised himself. As soon as this stupid, _stupid_ topic about an heir was solved, they'd have time together.

He shut the door behind him, sat down at the desk and began to write a letter:

 _Dear Rylai_

 _Abaddon and I have a problem and if someone is able to help us, it's you._

The letter was about one page long and the orc read it through once more before rolling it up. Then he went in search for some creature that could deliver his letter. He was positive he had seen some of them around and sure enough, he found them. Now he only had to wait.

As astonishing as it was, the answer already arrived when he was getting up. Time was a strange thing in this world sometimes. And Rylai, of course, took all problems her friends approached her with extremely seriously.

The Juggernaut was nervous as he opened the letter. Had it been that easy to find a solution to the problem that the Maiden had been able to answer immediately? Or Rylai didn't have one. The orc paused. No, never. Maybe she'd write that she didn't know one but she'd do everything to try and help. And the network of creatures she knew was endless. If there was a solution to a problem, she'd find it.

 _Hey_

 _Good choice asking me ;) Of course I can help. It's not that difficult. The only problem is: you need a female because the child has to be carried out. If that works (however) write me and I'll let you know_

 _what you need_

 _and where we'll meet._

 _(ha, that rhymes!)_

 _See you soon xxxxx_

 _Oh, no kidnapping of some female! Get her consent or I'll hit you!_

That sounded rather well, Yurnero thought and smiled at the tone of the letter. Typical Rylai. So, now they needed a female. He thought about going about this alone but then decided that it was better to show Rylai's reply to Abaddon. It was his thing, after all. Yurnero might want to help but the human still had to do all the deciding.

He folded the piece of paper and went to the Lord's room. Just when he raised his hand to knock, the door opened. "Good morning."

The Lord of Avernus had his face hidden underneath the hood but the orc sensed his surprise to find the Juggernaut in front of his door.

"Abaddon! It's time for breakfast!" Impressive, Yurnero thought. The human female was always around. How could she not grow tired of this? Of always having an eye on her son? It had to be pure stress but she did it with a matter of course that was astounding. And it seemed that she ignored yesterday's event and went on as always.

"I asked Rylai for help." Yurnero pressed the letter into Abaddon's hand. "This is her reply. Maybe you can give your mother what she wants without having to do something you don't want."

One of the Lord's sisters interrupted them. "Aba, mother is waiting. You should hurry." She looked at the Juggernaut shortly without saying anything before she left again.

"Read the letter." Yurnero left, too. He really didn't want to meet Abaddon's mother and definitely not first thing in the morning.


	14. Chapter 14

The day was awfully long. The Juggernaut got food directly from the kitchen and avoided everyone as best as he could. In the afternoon Abaddon's sister, the nice one, appeared where he was training and watched. She didn't approach him, not even when he made a break but kept looking at him.

Eventually when the orc glanced in her direction again, she was gone.

Who didn't appear, was Abaddon. Not in the afternoon, not in the evening and not during the night. In the morning the Juggernaut went to his room again, but the Lord of Avernus didn't answer the door. He was probably up already, listening to whatever his mother was talking about.

This day wasn't any better than the last one and around midday the Juggernaut grew more and more agitated and restless. Why didn't Abaddon talk to him about the letter? Didn't he like the idea? But even then he could at least say so. In the afternoon the human female showed up again and again she just watched the Juggernaut. He still didn't trust her any but maybe she could tell him what was going on with the Lord of Avernus and his mother at the moment.

As he approached her, the female unfolded her arms from across her chest and smiled. "Hello Juggernaut. Looks good what you are doing. You are an awesome fighter. I pity every creature that has to fight against you."

He knew that and thought about Abaddon, who never had had a problem when they had been training together. And the Juggernaut definitely hadn't been holding back. Yes, he hadn't used some of his stronger moves but he was sure that the Lord of Avernus would've been able to counter them, too. He ignored the comment of the female. "Do you know what they have been discussing the last two days?"

The human cocked her head to one side. She was still smiling. "You mean you want to know if they are talking about the letter you gave Aba? Yes, they are. The topic is: will it be good enough. And then: who is worthy enough to carry out Aba's child. What they didn't talk about, yet, is: who will be the second parent. Because to create a child like that, two creatures are needed as parents. Otherwise it won't really work, the magic not liking to create a child out of only one creature. The child would be too much like the parent and it confuses the process." The female took a step forward, her smile getting bigger. "The third question is something _you_ should think about, too. The other two are up to them, but the third… Have you thought about what it would mean if Aba got a kid? You are in a relationship with him, will it be your kid, too? Will you stay and raise it with him? Will it be a part of _you and him_?"

Yurnero stared, shocked into silence by the question.

Because she was right, Yurnero hadn't thought about that. Rylai hadn't written anything about it, but maybe she had assumed that they had talked it through, that they wanted a child together. He had been too focused on the question if Aba would be okay with this and if they'd find a female to carry the child that he hadn't thought the whole thing through. The human in front of him laughed. "Funny. Aba hasn't mentioned it yet, so I suppose he hasn't thought about it, either. I suggest you talk about it, it is important. Because mother might just be satisfied with this option to get an heir. And if you figure out suddenly that this isn't what _you_ want, it won't matter anymore because he'll be alone again anyway." When the Juggernaut didn't move, didn't react at all, she shook her head and left him standing there.

Yurnero was overwhelmed by thoughts. The female was right, this was something important to think about. It was the most important thing. And it came with a lot of stuff they had to consider.

There would be a child. An actual baby. And they'd have to take care of it. Of course there would be the female who had birthed the child. But it could as well be that this female would be gone as soon as the baby was there. And then? How did one raise a child? What did one need for a baby? There was so much to consider. Was he ready to have a child? If he stayed with Abaddon, it would be their child. He'd be a _father_. Wasn't that a tad too huge a step in his life? And too soon?

This was something the orc had never thought about. Him being gay had meant that he'd never have children and so why waste thoughts on it? He couldn't even remember if he had wanted kids when he hadn't yet known that he was gay. Had he wanted to have a family once?

His mind was whirling, round and round. A child.

When the sun began to set, he hadn't gotten much further, he was even still standing on the same spot. Except that he had to find Abaddon and talk with him about it. Because it all didn't matter if the Lord of Avernus didn't want a child with him. What if that was the case?

The Juggernaut groaned. This topic was definitely making him crazy. And though his thoughts were running faster than he could process them, he felt like he was in a haze, as if his movements were all too slow, as if the world had become all sluggish and he was stuck in something really sticky.

Thankfully, as he knocked on Abaddon's door, the human was there and opened. Without a word, Yurnero pushed past him and flopped down on the bed. He stared at the ceiling, not sure how to start this conversation. What should he say? They hadn't even had real sex, yet, and he was supposed to talk about having a baby together? Wasn't that way too fast?

"Mother agreed to the suggestion of the Crystal Maiden. My sisters will be asked to get the baby and mother will have a critical eye on every step of the process. She wants to make sure it's my child, my heir. She's a little sceptical but she has agreed to give it a try." The Lord sat down on the bed beside Yurnero. So the first steps were taken and the next question, the remaining one, was the one Abaddon's sister had asked. About who would be the second parent.

He tried to voice the question, but the Juggernaut was unable to put it into actual words. His heart was beating too fast and his hands were sweaty. He was nervous. He tried to calm down by taking even breaths but this whole situation was filled with so many possible ways it could go and more than half of them were strangely frightening for the orc. He wasn't even sure if he feared that the human would want to have a child with him or that he wouldn't want to. In the second option he'd be rejected, not good enough, but in the first he'd become a _father_. He thought that maybe all outcomes of this situation were fearsome.

"Yurnero." A soft touch on his shoulder. "Are you all right?" Abaddon's voice held a hint of concern. The Juggernaut shook his head.

Patiently the Lord of Avernus waited.

"You can't create a child from only one parent. You need to have two parents." He burst out, then balled his hands to fists and closed his eyes. He growled.

"Oh." That was the only answer for a long time. Abaddon shifted beside him a few times but he didn't move away or come closer. "I see." His voice was soft and quiet when he finally spoke again. Yurnero was tense all over, not sure what to expect and even more unsure about what he wanted to happen next.

Before the Lord of Avernus continued to speak, though, the Juggernaut felt his fingers on the sides of his face. The human turned his head and the orc opened his eyes, looking at Abaddon. He had removed his hood sometime and now he pulled Yurnero's mask off, too. There would be no hiding his emotions behind it but of course that was what Abaddon wanted, to be able to see what Yurnero thought and felt.

It made the Juggernaut feel way too exposed, especially when they were about to discuss this topic, but he supposed it was better like that.

They stared at each other before Abaddon spoke up again. "We didn't consider that yet and from your reaction I suppose you just thought about it recently."

Not a direct question but Yurnero nodded. He thought about answering, about telling him it had been his sister who had told him about this fact but it was unimportant, really, and he was so tense and he didn't want to interrupt whatever Abaddon was about to say. And he thought he might ramble and try to sway off topic once he started to speak about something other than the actual child-parent-thing. So he remained silent.

He could see how the Lord of Avernus struggled with this new problem. "I…", he frowned, shook his head. "Do you want to be the second parent?"

Yurnero's breath hitched at this direct question. Then he groaned. "I don't know! This is too much, there is too much to consider! I don't know anything about raising children. There is so much we'd have to think about, so much to plan, to do. And what if I'm a bad father? I don't even remember my childhood and my parents, how do I know what to do and what not?" He threw an arm over his face, he didn't want Abaddon to see him like that. He felt like a wreck and probably looked like one too.

"So you're not sure."

"No, I'm not." The words were muffled underneath his arm.

"But not because of me, because of us."

"What?" He moved his arm out of the way and looked at Abaddon. The human's expression was serious and somehow guarded. "No! Of course not because of you or us." He had thought about how this was moving too fast in their relationship. But not because he wasn't sure about them being together. He knew that he loved Abaddon, didn't doubt it. He wasn't so sure the other way round, but that wasn't his to decide or determine.

It was just that it was such a huge step, they had to be sure, and they had to be sure _together_ , that this was okay for both of them. That they would be able to manage having a child. That they both wanted it. "It's just… it's a child! So small and helpless and we'd have to take care of it, all the time! What if something goes wrong?" So much could go wrong, so much could happen to a child. They'd never be able to protect it from everything all the time.

Abaddon lay down next to Yurnero on the bed, both staring at the ceiling now. "You are right, this is a big decision. Until now I always pushed the idea of having a child one day away because there has never been someone I could imagine getting children with. I knew that it was my duty and that I'd have children one day, but it has always been so far away. This whole thing now, with the idea from the Crystal Maiden, and with mother approving of it… I don't think I'll have much of a choice now. It doesn't matter anymore who the second parent will be because I'll never have to interact with her. Or him. I'll become a father, sooner rather than later, the only question remaining, it seems, is, who will be the second parent. Mother won't stop now. And I'm absolutely sure that one of my sisters will agree to carry my child. If I'm lucky she'll only do that, if not, she'll stay and help to raise it. Or maybe the other way round." He sighed. For long moments neither of them said anything.

The Lord of Avernus sighed again. "I suppose we won't come to a decision just yet. But I think mother won't give us much time, now that she found a way to get an heir from me I agree with." He rolled over onto his side. "Yurnero."

The Juggernaut turned his head. They were very close and Abaddon's voice, as he continued to speak, was very soft. "I don't want to put any pressure on you. This is my problem, not yours. Whatever happens, you can leave whenever you want. You don't have to stay. But of course you can stay as long as you want. You can stay without being the second parent of my child, too. I won't be mad at you or something. I just don't want you to do anything you don't want to and then regret it eventually." He touched his fingers to Yurnero's cheek, then stroked them up into the orc's hair. "I…" he hesitated. Then he closed his eyes and just leaned over, pressing his lips against Yurnero's.

A soft kiss, at least at the beginning. The Juggernaut was almost sure what the Lord of Avernus had been about to say. Maybe he felt uncomfortable saying it out loud but he was clearly showing it with his kiss. Yurnero could feel the love the human was feeling for him in the way he kissed him. It was amazing! _He_ was amazing.

This situation might be extremely strange, the way his family (and he himself with his sense of duty) pressured the Lord of Avernus into getting an heir weird, but the way Abaddon stayed calm throughout it all was amazing. He didn't whine or complain or quarrel with this huge thing his family threw in front of his feet. He had thought he couldn't do it and that was probably the only reason why he didn't have a child already. Now that there was a way for him without having to get some female pregnant by means of sex, he was willing to do it. He saw it as his duty to get an heir and he went with it. It was like all these other times before: when the Lord of Avernus set his path he didn't waver from it, ever. He'd see this through up to the end, no matter what.

And he didn't expect anyone to do it with him. He didn't expect his boyfriend to stay by his side when he was pressured into getting an heir. Yurnero was sure that he hadn't just said it but that he meant it. He really didn't expect anything from the orc. _You can stay without being the second parent of my child._ And help him raise a child that wasn't his? Let him have a child with someone else? Let him get a baby that was part Abaddon and part _someone else_?

The thought didn't sit well with Yurnero. The Lord of Avernus was stronger than any human the Juggernaut had ever met, physically and mentally, too. But even he shouldn't have to go through such a live-altering process alone. Especially not as long as he had a boyfriend who could stand by his side. Who could help him and support him.

Yurnero realized that he felt deeper for Abaddon than he had thought. He didn't want him to have to do this alone. He didn't want him to have a child with someone else. He didn't want to leave him. Not now, not ever. He wanted to be by his side throughout it all. He had said he loved him, before, but this felt graver. As if it was even more than love. Maybe whenever he had felt love before, it hadn't been love at all. Maybe this was how it was supposed to be.

The orc moved closer to the human and rolled onto his side, too, until their bodies were touching. He was still unsure about being a father but what kind of boyfriend would he be if he shifted all the responsibility onto Abaddon's shoulders? Of course he'd stay. And then? Every time there was a problem he'd say: _this isn't my child. I don't know._ That would be super awful. Then he could as well leave right away. And that was something he really didn't want.

This was one of these situations where you could go all or nothing. The 'nothing', even just the thought of it, left him with this uncomfortable empty feeling he already knew from when he had thought he'd never see Abaddon again, at the beginning of their friendship. Only now it was so much stronger because they weren't merely friends anymore. To leave him now, or to be left by him, it would hurt on a level the Juggernaut had never hurt before. It would be devastating.

It left Yurnero with only one option and he wanted to tell Abaddon that he'd stay, that he'd gladly be the second parent (though he was near terrified of becoming a father) and that he'd be by his side, no matter what. But when he wanted to break the kiss, the human tightened the hand in his hair and nipped at his lip. They hadn't spent time like that together since the Lord of Avernus had left for this family matter and the orc only tried for a second longer before he decided that it wasn't that important to tell Abaddon now. He'd do it later.

When the human nipped at his lip again, he growled softly and stopped to resist.

* * *

Yurnero and Abaddon fell asleep side by side. When the orc woke up, just like the first time, he was alone in bed. He couldn't hear anyone in the room and when he opened his eyes, he saw that it was empty, too. The Lord of Avernus must've gotten up and left already.

The Juggernaut scowled as he put his clothes on. He'd have to tell Abaddon how impolite it was to leave his boyfriend alone like that. And he tried to fight his rising panic. The last time they had slept together and he had woken alone, the Lord of Avernus had left him. This was too much like that and he was afraid to be left again. He couldn't always follow Abaddon like some poor lovesick fool. He stepped out of the room while he was still adjusting his mask.

The first family member he found, he stopped. "Where's Abaddon?" The boy, or the man, he was surely an adult but he was thin and small enough to be a boy, stopped and blinked at him for a few moments, as if he hadn't expected to be spoken to.

The Juggernaut shifted his weight from one foot to the other impatiently. The human took a step back, suddenly nervous. Well, he was some puny human standing in front of an impatient orc. "Um, I think he's with mother. Um, want me to show you?"

He nodded and then followed the male, who made way too tiny steps for the orcs liking. They could be twice as fast if the human had longer legs. He never had that problem with Abaddon.

He was led to a door on which the man knocked. With a last unsure glance at the orc, he took off before someone could answer.

The door was opened by the Lord of Avernus and the Juggernaut almost sighed in relief to see him. Instead of doing something stupid (like launching himself at the human and hugging him as if they hadn't seen each other for months instead of hours and therefore giving away his strange fear of Abaddon leaving him) he leaned against the doorframe casually. "Good morning."

He got no answer, Abaddon just stared at him.

"Yeah, well, you were gone and I wasn't sure what you had planned for the day." He straightened. When he was here, he could as well address the topic that had to be addressed. "You left before I could tell you that the answer to your question from yesterday is 'yes'."

Still he got no reaction from Abaddon. Yurnero frowned. "Are you all right?" He moved closer and tried to peer through the black mist underneath the hood. Of course he couldn't see anything except Abaddon's eyes, and he couldn't read anything from them.

"You, what?" Abaddon's voice was hoarse. He still didn't move, nothing about him moved. Yurnero thought he could be a statue. Had he even stopped breathing?

"I said yes, to this parent thing. I wanted to tell you yesterday but then, well, you kissed me and then, um, you know, and this morning you were gone." He was still half terrified at the idea of having a child but then he thought about it being their child, his and Abaddon's, and about how they'd raise it together. It was still terrifying but they'd figure it all out. Together.

"You..."

"That's perfect." Abaddon was interrupted by his mother, who appeared by his side. "We just got the reply from the Crystal Maiden where and when to meet her and the mage who's going to perform the ritual."

A second female appeared, one of Abaddon's sisters. "I'm ready." She was probably one of the tallest females of the family and she was even taller than the male who had led Yurnero to this door. She was still small compared to the Lord or to the Juggernaut but not tiny. "Aba, we can leave as soon as the horses are saddled."

"Get your stuff." Abaddon's mother smiled at her son. She actually, in earnest, smiled, then she addressed the Juggernaut. "I assume we'll get a horse saddled for you, too, then." Mother and daughter left, leaving the two men staring at each other.

"If you intended to leave in half an hour, would you have come to me and asked me again? Or would you have just left and gotten someone else as second parent?" Yurnero was disappointed. If he hadn't gone looking for Abaddon, he would've been left out of this. Like he didn't matter. He had thought they were in a relationship, had based his decision on this fact. But if the Lord of Avernus had decided to leave him out of this parent thing without asking him again, then they probably weren't. At least not in a way a relationship should be.

"No." His voice was still a bit off, somehow. "Of course I wanted to ask you. It isn't as if they can leave without me."

Yurnero frowned, not sure if he should believe that. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, growling a little, and waited for what the Lord had to say.

"I just..." Abaddon hesitated. "I feared your answer. Mother caught me on my way to get breakfast and told me about the letter from the Crystal Maiden. She wrote her without my knowledge. She wants to get this done so she can finally have her heir. Maybe she think's I won't see this through and wants to get it done quickly, before I can change my mind or something." Finally the Lord of Avernus let go of the door he had still been clutching. "I was afraid you'd say no because it was too much and you didn't have enough time to think about it. I wanted to ask you again, I really did. I was simply... putting it off."

They stared at each other until Abaddon pulled his hood from his face. "You really mean it? You want to have a child with me?" He sounded hopeful, yet he looked unsure, as if he couldn't believe it. It was so untypical for the Lord of Avernus not to be all confident and sure of himself and the things he did, that Yurnero got weak. Besides, it wasn't as if Abaddon had ever lied to him. Maybe he hadn't told him things, but he had never lied.

The Juggernaut unfolded his arms and took his mask off. "Yes. I'm not sure I'm ready for it but if you have to get a child then, yes, I want to be the second parent."

The smile he got in answer to this made Yurnero realize just how right his decision had been. He stepped closer and kissed Abaddon, enjoying how he could still feel his smile against his lips. The Lord had been way too stern lately and it was nice to see him happy for once. Breaking the kiss, the orc smiled, too. "We'll figure it all out, I suppose." He snorted. "Me, getting a child. Who would've ever thought that?"

"Well, I didn't think I'd ever get one, either. I was expecting to be discussing this topic with my mother for the rest of my life."

"But, you said you aren't gay. It would have been possible for you." They had never talked about this, but there had to be more behind Abaddon's statement.

"No, I'm not. Actually, I never preferred one gender over the other. But, until I met you, I thought I might be asexual. I never, not with anyone, felt sexual attraction. Not even the tiniest bit. And that is a huge obstacle for getting someone pregnant."

"What?" Yurnero stared at the human. But he had said, he could have sex with someone he loved. There were too many implications that came with this sentence. He had never felt sexual attraction. That meant: he had never been with someone before? With anyone? In any situation that was related to sex? Had he kissed someone before? But if not, then why him? Because there was absolutely no question about Abaddon being attracted to him.

Abaddon shrugged. "I told mother about it but she said that this was just because I hadn't met the right person. So she introduced me to tons of women. That's why I didn't want to tell her about you because I thought it might encourage her to try harder and bring even more of them. Because she was right all along." He smiled. "I'm really glad we go through this together. Though," he sighed, "if I'd had a say in all this I wouldn't have forced it on you like that. Of course I didn't think there was a way for two males to get a baby but at least I'd have waited a few years before asking you about getting a child."

When Yurnero just stared without saying anything, The Lord of Avernus frowned. "What is it?"

How to answer that? This was so much information, the orc didn't really know what to do with it all. He couldn't say his questions were answered, actually he had more questions now than ever. "I think you never talked that much ever before."

With a smile he leaned over and kissed Yurnero. "Yeah, it's because I feel comfortable around you. You were confronted with all this, my mother, her relentless pursue of me getting an heir and this parent thing. And you are still here, you are still with me. I never thought it would end like that. I thought you'd leave me and so I was always a little wary around you. I was kind of waiting for the moment you decided you had enough." He shook his head. "I never believed that you'd actually stay. And do this together with me. That you'd be by my side."

Yurnero hugged Abaddon and buried his face in the human's hair. "I love you." He had said this before, once, but it had been kind of forced then. He had hated that he felt this way, back then. But now, he was glad to have a boyfriend like him. He just wished Abaddon had told him some of the things he now knew earlier. It would've explained a lot and it would've made some of his actions easier to understand. Such as the hesitation, the slowness with which their relationship had developed. Him feeling uncomfortable with their friendship because he had never felt like this before. Of course it had been new and probably overwhelming. Especially when he had felt sexual attraction for the first time. No wonder he had wanted distance, had needed time to figure it all out.

Abaddon laughed softly into Yurnero's chest. "You truly do, don't you?" He loosened his hold on the orc and stepped out of their hug. "We should get ready to leave." But he didn't go, instead he looked like he wanted to say more. So Yurnero waited while he tried not to appear too hopeful for Abaddon's next words. He was sure by now that the human loved him, too, but he hadn't said it yet.

"It is only fair to say it back."

"You shouldn't say it because it's fair to do so." That wasn't right, wasn't the way it should be.

"Can I say it because you are gorgeous?"

Yurnero smiled.

"Or because of your beautiful smile?"

"Now you just mock me."

"Yes." But then the Lord of Avernus grew serious. "You know, I haven't said it to anyone before."

 _Now_ Yurnero knew. And his heart beat faster. Because he was something special. The first. Abaddon's first. He reached out and stroked through the human's hair. So soft against his fingers. "You don't have to say it. It's fine."

"Man, we are getting a child together! Don't you think you should know how I feel for you? I appreciate how you never push me for anything, though. Not now and not before, and I know how difficult I've been from time to time." He put his hand over Yurnero's and leaned his face into his palm. "Yurnero, I love you."


End file.
